Broken
by barefootduchess
Summary: Bella's parents were killed by bad vamps when she was a little girl. James and Victoria keep her around for 'entertainment' until she's old enough to become a meal. The Cullens rescue her but will Bella's mind survive? BxE, Cannon Pairings, AU
1. Prologue

Prologue

**BPOV**

I was five at the time. My parents, Charlie and Renee had decided to split up. I was old enough to understand what divorce was, but I'm not sure I had really processed exactly what it would mean until I watched my mom drag my suitcase out of my closet and begin to pack up my clothes.

It had been the worst fight yet, the yelling still pounding inside my head. It had happened so often I had grown used to it; I never cried any more, just sat and waited until it stopped.

That rainy day I just sat on my bed as Renee folded everything quickly and shoved it inside the blue hard-backed suitcase. She looked up at me, a small smile on her tear streaked face. "Don't worry, baby,' she crooned," you'll see Charlie every summer and on the holidays; it's not forever." I nodded silently. Finally I found the nerve to speak up. "Where are we going to go?" my tiny voice cracked just a bit.

Renee looked thoughtful for a while, then turned once again to face me. "Somewhere where the sun always shines, baby. What do you think about Los Angeles?" I nodded again. I liked the sun. You never saw much of it here in Forks. Renee continued needlessly," In LA you can swim every day if you want; it hardly ever rains, it's always warm, like an endless summer!"

She finished packing and grabbed my hand gently. We walked down the stairs to where Charlie was waiting for us. "At least let me drive you to where you're going." He said in his defeated tone. " No need to waste money on an airplane."

Renee hesitated for a moment and seemed to see the logic of the idea. "All right." she conceded. We all headed out the door, Charlie helping Renee with her bags and suitcases. After loading everything into the back end we got into Charlie's brown suburban and settled in for the long ride to California.

Along the way my attention faded in and out between Renee and Charlie discussing finding us a temporary place of residence to how Charlie would get Billy to drive my mom's blue 1985 Pontiac Grand Am to us. I was day dreaming of Renee and I living in an apartment building with a pool out front that I could swim in daily. I could almost see myself in my little red one piece learning to jump off the diving board into Renee's waiting arms.

After what seemed endless days of driving Charlie turned his head to look at me in the backseat and announced," Almost there, kiddo. We're in LA now, just got to stop for a minute to get gas at the next station and then we're on to the hotel."

We pulled in to an old looking Conoco station and Charlie got out to pay for the gas. My mom announced that she and I were going to visit the 'little girls room' and would be ready to go in just a few minutes. Charlie told her to take her time since he'd have to find the boys room himself before pulling out of the station. We turned to head around the side of the building where the restrooms were located.

In southern California there's very little twilight. Once the sun sets it gets dark pretty quickly. Renee and I walked quickly during the very little time between the end of the afternoon and the beginning of the evening… just as the last lights faded from the sky.

As we entered the one stalled 'room' for ladies, Renee barely got to the sink as I flipped the switch to the 'on' position when the door slammed shut behind us. We never even had time to turn; things seemed to be happening so quickly and I simply couldn't comprehend all of them at once. My memory is still so jumbled, but this I am sure of, the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen appeared so suddenly in front of the grimy bathroom door, an evil smile spreading slowly across her exquisite face. The sound of the door locking registered somewhere in my mind but I would not comprehend it's full meaning for several minutes. The woman had flowing fiery red hair that seemed to flicker around her very much like flames. She moved so quickly toward my mother, embracing her so quickly and quietly, I'd have assumed they were old friends but for the fact that my mother's eyes were wide with fear, a tiny scream trying to escape her throat. Renee's wide terror filled eyes searching for me as she gasped her last breaths. Her long slender arms struggling to reach for me, but they never raised more than half the height of her body before they went totally limp. Her whole body slowly relaxed into the beautiful woman's embrace. Slowly, gracefully, almost lovingly, the woman seemed to lower my mother's now motionless body to the floor. I will never forget the small thud Renee's lifeless body made as the woman's grasp released her only two feet from the floor.

A gasp of realization escaped my lips as I realized that my mother was dead. The woman, who seemed not to have noticed me before now turned her dark crimson eyes to my face. She inhaled deeply. "My what an aroma you have, little one." She said as she slowly, gracefully stalked toward me. Her movements reminded me of that of a cat slyly approaching it's next meal. Her movements were interrupted by a light tap at the door.

"Charlie." I whispered, fearful that my father would be her next victim, but it was not Charlie's voice that floated musically from the other side of the ladies room door. "Victoria," the voice crooned softly," are you nearly done?"

In one swift movement, much to fast for me to see, Victoria had crossed the space between me and the door and had opened it to reveal the owner of the beautiful voice I had heard only seconds before. The man stepped in. His eyes the same color crimson as Victoria's, but harder, full of immeasurable cruelty. His smile, menacing and cold, did not reach his eyes as he gazed down upon me. His skin, I noted, was the palest I had ever seen. His shoulder length blond hair tied back into a neat but rather loose ponytail.

"Well, well. What is this?" he murmured softly. His nostrils flared slightly as he sniffed the air. "So small and yet, so strong." His words confused me. Somehow I knew he was talking about me, but my five year old mind reeled with terror did not yet comprehend his meaning.

"She's not very big, James." Victoria sneered. "Not big enough to share at least." she said, the sound of hope in her voice evident as she looked back down at me.

"Indeed, my dear." James breathed. "But I would not be so quick to give up one so delicious…even to you." He stood, lost in thought though his wicked red eyes never left mine. "We will wait." he announced after what seemed decades of nothing but his gaze locked to mine. "They do not take very long to grow. Besides, I believe she will provide an excellent source of entertainment during our wait."

Obviously not trusting his mate, James snatched me from the tiny bathroom floor. And soon we were flying through the streets of the city at a speed I had never known. I shut my eyes unable to think, unable to cry. I was in shock of what had transpired in what had seemed like years since I'd left the safety of Charlie's suburban, but had been only moments.

When my eyes opened I was in a warehouse of some sort. I barely had time to take in my surroundings before I was thrown into a small enclosed room. Another bathroom. But if I'd thought the one before was in slight need of maintenance I now thought of it as a grand palace compared to the one I was now in.

I looked up to see James staring down at me, one pale hand on the door frame, the other holding the door, his body blocking any hope of escape. I felt the tears well up in my eyes though I could not seem to make them fall. Some part of me knew, even then, that pleading was futile. James' jaw seemed to clench and unclench as he decided what he was going to say.

"This door has no lock. But I can smell if you even attempt to touch the knob. If I ever smell your scent there, you will wish you had died back there with your pitiful parents." He sneered at me. "There is no way out of this place that is not watched at all times. I will know if you try to leave." he paused thoughtfully, "And even if you were fortunate enough to get out of the building, it would take nothing to find you; your scent is as strong as if you were bleeding a trail of breadcrumbs."

My mind only half registered what he had said. Instead I was focused on only one word. 'Parents.' So Charlie was dead too. He must have been James' meal as my mother was Victoria's. My little heart shattered. I was alone. There was no hope. I was intended to die as my parents had, only they were lucky; they'd had no warning, no idea that their breaths were numbered. I did. I knew that as soon as I was big enough, and I wasn't sure exactly how big _was_ enough, I would die too.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! R&R please!** _**(Be gentle; it's my very first Fanfic ever!)**_


	2. Chapter 1 Darkness Dawning

Chapter One

APOV

Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills California. The one and probably only cloudy day of the year in this area of California and I had been lucky enough to have an awesome vision of Rosalie, Jasper and myself taking such an excellent advantage of this weather anomaly with an all day shopping expedition. We had driven Rosalie's red BMW convertible since there were three passengers instead of the usual two. Jasper usually did not come with us on our little shopping excursions, but something cloudy in my vision implied that he would be relevant to the trip so here he was tagging along behind Rose and I as we darted in and out of the hottest shops on the strip.

We so rarely got the chance to hit this part of the country due to it's usually perfect sunny weather, we decided late in the day to hit some of the Los Angeles and Hollywood scene before going home. They had so many shops and niches that stayed open much later than any of the uptown boutiques not to mention it might be funny to see what odd or risqué items we could find to get a rise out of our usually distant brother, Edward. Rosalie even found a few trinkets for herself and for Emmett in this area that might peak his interest.

We were just exiting one of our last stops laughing and joking about how fun it would be to include the whole family the next time the weather permitted shopping in LA when I stopped dead in my tracks. I didn't even feel Jasper bump into me; I was lost in another cloudy version of my vision that had brought us here in the first place.

JPOV

The feelings of excited bliss emanating from Rosalie and Alice were beginning to eat at my nerves. Usually I would have been quite content to stay at home with the rest of the family hanging out, hunting, or whatever anyone else was doing, anything but this. Every so often Alice pulled me along onto one of her little shopping trips, though the word little usually had no place whatsoever to do with the words Alice and shopping. I love my wife dearly and I love the fact that she seems to enjoy a sort of high from the act of purchasing something…anything….and that we have the means that she can do this to a nearly endless extent at any venue in the world that strikes her fancy, but I often opt out of participating in the actual deed if I can at all help it. Today, however I was roped in like a yearling calf. I trusted Alice's visions and if she said I was necessary then I would not argue with her….even if it meant I was needed only to come along as a pack mule, an extra set of arms to laden with frilly shopping bags, sacks and boxes of my beautiful wife's rather expensive hobby.

We were just walking out of what I was dearly hoping would be the last stop of our daylong excursion when I unwittingly ran right into Alice's back. She had stopped cold in her tracks, Rosalie was still talking and had walked several steps ahead when she finally realized that Alice was no longer at her side. I stopped myself from stumbling and dropping all of the bags on my arms when I suddenly realized why she had stopped. Her honey-gold eyes were looking straight ahead staring into nothingness, seeing nothing and everything all at once. Her blissful mood was no longer radiating from her body, in fact, there were no emotions at all coming from her; she was having a vision. Alice never seemed to hear or see or feel anything while she was in what I referred to in my head as 'future mode' She simply stopped everything and gave herself over to whatever alternate reality it was that was coming at her.

The street lamps had already come on. In the middle of summer in southern California if you were still shopping on the streets below Sunset Blvd. you certainly got to witness a completely different way of life. It was as if the whole scene that played out during the day simply punched it's card on some gigantic time clock and the night shift punched in to take over from dark until the few hours before the sun rose.

Finally Alice seemed to come around, her eyes returning to a normal state of alertness. Her breathing resumed she looked slowly around at me, for a while she merely held my gaze, trying, I supposed, to find the words to communicate her latest vision to Rosalie and I when I noticed her feeling rising from the usual state of near shock, that was normal for her when she experience a strong vision out of the blue, to a heightened state of panic. Her physical actions mirrored her emotional state as her unnecessary breathing increased quickly, her eyes trying to communicate a sense of urgency. Unable to withstand the length of time between her realization of her sight and her coherent delivery of the urgency that showed all too well in her body, I asked in a low, strained voice, "Alice what? Who? Something's wrong." It wasn't a question. I knew her all too well. When she lost her capacity to speak, a rare occurrence for my wife, it had to be serious.

APOV

As my vision faded before my eyes I realized I was looking into Jasper's. Already before I could even comprehend it myself he had picked up on my urgent need to act. My body was already gearing up for what I knew would be a dangerous attempt in our very near future. "We have to run…" I stammered. I knew this didn't make as much sense to them as it did to me, but it was all I could seem to get out at the moment. The memory of the vision still reeled inside my head. As I tried to both process what I had just seen and to relay it to Rose and Jasper my mouth tried to work as fast as my mind, which was not easy, even given speech at vampire speed. "She's…we…have to save her….fast……we don't have much time…..we have to run!"

Jasper put his hands gently, but firmly on my shoulders looking me square in the eye. "Calm down" he said as he pushed a wave of calming emotions through me. I knew he was only trying to calm me to try to make sense of my words, but I got annoyed; this was serious, we didn't have time for a little 'family chat'!

I glared at him, feeling slightly guilty for being annoyed at his usually well received gift. I spoke more slowly now through clenched teeth. "Jasper, we don't have time; someone is about to die and if we don't hurry it could effect our family on so many levels down the road. I can't explain how right now because I don't know, all I know is that this is one of the most important things that will ever happen to our family and for the poor girl in my vision….we'll have to run at vampire speed and just pray we can go unnoticed."

At this point Rosalie piped up, "Are you crazy? On these crowded streets?! There's no way we would be able to avoid exposure!" Her breathing as well as her anger increased with each sentence. "And for a human?! They die every day, Alice! What's one compared to the safety of our entire family?!" "What are we supposed to play 'super-heroes' now!?"

"Look Rose,' I said, hoping the fire in my eyes was enough to shut her up and spur her into action, 'if we don't do this now it would be far worse for our family than risking exposure of what we are." I dearly loved my 'sister' but she had a knack for being a royal pain sometimes. I clenched my teeth, half growling at her, "Do this now or wait in the car, but so help me Rosalie, if you bail it will be a very, very long time before I will be able to consider forgiving you for this one." "I wish I had more time to explain and look for other possible outcomes, but as it stands we will need all three of us to do this so I suggest you stop whining and get ready to follow me."

With an exasperated, yet defeated sigh Rosalie glared at me. "Fine. Lead the way." She spat in tones too low for any human to hear. The anger rolling off her so thick I did not need Jasper to be there to feel every stinging emotion she cast at me.

"Let's go. This way!" I said as we sped off in the direction of our waiting destiny. I prayed silently as I ran that no one would notice the blurs with shopping bags streak past them. And that if any did, they'd be too high or drunk for anyone to take them seriously.

We flew at top speed through the streets taking as many deserted alleyways as possible to avoid detection by humans. My vision had supplied me with just enough street signs and landmarks to be able to decipher where I was headed. It wasn't easy; my shopping excursions to LA and Hollywood usually stuck to the boutiques and shops lining the fashion districts, but this detour was taking us right into some of the worst neighborhoods I had ever encountered in any city. You could tell that we were not in friendly territory. I'm generally not a judgmental person but I knew we were flying past crack houses and brothels and all other sorts of despicable businesses. Soon we reached what seemed to be the destination in my vision. But my vision had not quite prepared me for what we were about to encounter. The visions I had were based on sights and sounds, even those were very unclear at times and often it was only a vision of what _could_ be. But this vision was different. Sometimes there were visions of what I was certain would be or currently was happening. This was one of them. As we slowed, running toward what looked to be an old abandon, and maybe even condemned warehouse, my nostrils were assaulted with the scent of blood. Human blood. I looked back to Jasper, his worried gaze mirroring my own. He smelled it too. But as I willed myself to draw closer to the wretched building I realized that the smell of blood was old smelling….like it had been spilt days ago. Not exactly appetizing even to those of us who lived strictly on a diet of animal blood; the scent of fresh human blood could draw us out of our vowed lifestyle into a sort of 'feeding-frenzy', but this….ugh.

Rosalie stepped cautiously closer to me. "It's not just old' she said, speaking aloud the thoughts that Jasper and I were merely thinking, 'it's…mixed with chemicals, I'm not sure what, but I certainly wouldn't worry about Jasper losing his focus in here; it wreaks."

I nodded in agreement as we padded forward, glad that no human could hear our silent approach. I heard Jasper inhale deeply behind me. He looked at me, his eyes still a burnished bronze color. "None of our kind here either, at least not in the last day or so, but they have been here and I'm not entirely certain they won't return. Let's get what ever this is over with and get home. I do not like where we are right now."

We presses forward, grabbing hold of an old rusted door, it appeared to be locked but one slight tug from a vampire could un-wedge it effortlessly. We stepped inside. Our heightened senses stirring to life even more so than before. The blood we smelled wasn't just a little bit…the whole floor seemed to be covered in it in varying degrees of freshness. From as recent as a week ago to blood that seemed to be decades old literally covering every square inch of cement that was the visible first floor of the abandon warehouse. And the chemicals Rosalie had detected were most likely used to try and disguise or wash away it's scent and color from the few surfaces including the floor of the building. Perhaps it had worked to delude humans, but to us it just made the whole thing that much worse.

"It's a slaughterhouse." Jasper whispered. I looked at him, his eyes surveying the expanse painfully. I knew his memories would only make the experience we were in that much worse. I pressed on. Even through the seeming calm I knew that time was not on our side, I did not want to get lulled into a false sense of security and get us all killed.

I listened intently for what I knew would lead us to what we were here for. It was so faint I almost missed it. A heartbeat. But it was slow, trembling…there wasn't much time. We had to hurry. I allowed my other senses to roam the entire expanse of the dilapidated building. Then I caught her scent. Sweet. Floral. I followed it motioning silently for the other two to follow me.

We climbed a rusty, but surprisingly steady staircase to our right. The only sound was of Rosalie's high heels on the metal steps and she was making a great effort to conceal even that. We walked along a narrow catwalk until we reached what must have been some sort of office area at sometime in the past. Crude as it was it was certainly different from the wide open space of the floor below. I could hear the pulse of our prospect getting slightly louder. The 'office' however was piled with junk. Much of it I'm sure was old machinery or office equipment. Surprisingly the stench of dead blood was not as strong up here. Downstairs must be the killing floor. As I neared a small door in the far corner of the 'office' room I could hear the heartbeat quicken and slow…such an odd sound. I knew it could not be a healthy one. I slowly drew the small door open of what had clearly been a restroom. To my surprise an old fluorescent light hummed and flickered, not giving out nearly as much light as the energy it was pulling in. Below it was a rusted and corroded sink, from what I could see it used to be made of white porcelain. To the left of it was a matching rusted and mold caked toilet, but what drew my attention immediately away was the very reason we were here in the first place.


	3. Chapter 2 Don't Hold Your Breath

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and alerts! I really didn't think I'd get so many!**

**Unfortunately I do not own Edward Cullen (or any of the Twilight chars) but I wish I did! Stephenie Meyers is so lucky....  
**

**AS always thanks to my betas (Eyeliner_Vampire and thesugarbuzzproject)**

**Enjoy!  
**

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**APOV**

The buildings flew past us at speeds no human could fathom. I imagined to them it must be like riding a concord bareback as it screamed through the atmosphere.

In my arms was cradled one of the most precious possessions I would possibly ever hold. I just wish I understood why it was so very precious. 'All in time.' I assured myself.

Even to my small, willowy frame her arms and legs felt so very tiny and breakable. She had barely even registered our presence as I scooped her off the grimy bathroom floor and sped out of the warehouse, being careful to retrace our initial path exactly as we sped toward Rosalie's red BMW convertible.

As if my racing mind and body were not enough as we neared the car my lips began spitting forth directions at vampire speed to Rose and Jasper. "Jasper, put the top on the car, Rose, get ready to drive like your life depends on it….it just might tonight."

Nimbly, I jumped into the back seat, my precious cargo still half conscious in my arms. I was thankful that through her barrage of bruises on her thin body, there were no open scrapes or abrasions. Her scent was captivating. So sweet. So very inviting. So very…distracting. How was this ever going to work out? How could we make it back to the house without mauling the poor girl? My eyes instinctively flew to Jasper as he and Rose entered the car, Rose taking the driver's seat, while Jasper reluctantly crawled into the passenger seat. "Try not to breathe, Jasper. It's not just you." I murmured knowingly at the pained expression on his face.

"Maybe we should roll the windows down." Rosalie suggested as we were flying down the highway at speeds even vampires should not dare to drive. The streetlights passing in one long blur of light.

"No, Rose. As hard as it is, we'll have to endure it; they could catch her scent leaving a trail in this direction. They've been with her a long time. It wouldn't be hard for them to track. They may even be able to detect it now, but with the windows up and the speed we're driving hopefully it will dissipate soon."

Jasper continued to clench and unclench his jaw. He'd stopped breathing the moment I opened the door to the bathroom she was huddled in, but her strong, delectable scent had been enough to permeate his sensory memory. He was trying hard, I could see, to think of anything else but her delicious blood.

Once the street lights had begun to spread out and finally disappear all together, I finally relaxed just a little. I too had to stop breathing for a little while. But it seemed I could handle it better than Jasper. I looked down at my charge. Her eyes were opened but seemed to stare blankly ahead. Her frail body covered in a dirty t-shirt several sizes too big and an old tattered pair of shorts that obviously belonged to a former victim of her captors. Her brown hair was matted and filthy. Her skin, pale as my own, was dirty and bruised. Her eyes were shadowed in purple circles so dark I was not entirely sure they were not bruised and blackened.

Her face had very delicate features and was long and thin, but not in an uncomely way. Her limbs were limp as she sat across my lap. Nearly a head taller than I, it seemed almost awkward to have her situated there. But I feared she could not sit up on her own, and there was no room in the back of a little BMW convertible for her to lay down.

The further the distance we put between ourselves and LA, the better I began to feel. I wanted to ask Rosalie to drive in an indirect path toward the town we now resided in, but out of compassion for my husband's already weakening condition I chose to remain silent. All roads we took would eventually lead to Forks anyhow. Might as well keep us all safe and just get there as quickly as possible.

Rose hadn't said more than two words since we came upon the warehouse. At first I thought she, too, might be holding her breath, but the girl's smell didn't seem to bother her. Rosalie, like Carlisle, had attended medical school and was almost as immune to the smell of human blood as he was. She wasn't having trouble with the scent. She was angry. Rosalie detested humans for more than one reason. Not only did it disgust her than she desired their blood at all, but she envied them as well. She was not happy being a vampire. Truthfully, I'm not sure any of us were exactly 'happy' with our type of lifestyle, but it's something that chose us, not the other way around. We tried to make up for what we were by only consuming the blood of animals, though of course it was not what we truly desired, it made us feel as if we were at least attempting to make a difference. I supposed we simply coped better than Rosalie.

As we neared the house after several hours of driving, I could hear the commotion inside. Edward must have picked up on our thoughts as we neared the long driveway to our extensive home. When we pulled up to the house, he and Carlisle were waiting by the front door to assist us in any way possible.

Rose and Jasper were out of the car first. Rose was quickly putting the top down as Jasper made his way over to open the door for me. He gave me a serious look as I climbed out of the car, my cargo still wrapped in my arms. "I need to hunt." he said using the last bit of air in his lungs. I nodded quickly too him as he turned toward the forest near our house. I knew he would not be away for very long, he just needed to satisfy the burn in his throat that our newest family member had caused.

Rose and I turned toward the front door as a gust of wind hit my back. Instinctively, I looked toward where Carlisle and Edward were standing. Carlisle's stance was unchanged as he waited calmly for us to approach. Edward, however looked to be in more pain than Jasper. I hesitated for a moment whether to approach them or to turn back to the car as Carlisle turned and gently laid a hand on Edward's shoulder. "I know it's strong, hold your breath for a moment and it shouldn't take long for it to pass." Carlisle murmured softly to Edward.

Edward took a few steps forward, his eyes, a dark topaz color, never strayed from the girl in my arms. His expression, pained and horrified. "You won't hurt her, Edward." I said confidently. "I've seen all the possible outcomes, you're stronger than you think you are." I knew at the moment he didn't believe me. He would in time. But right now he seemed to be having an internal struggle. One that went beyond the thirst for her blood. He looked momentarily to me before dropping his gaze back to her blank staring eyes. "Is she…" he seemed to be struggling for the right words, "does she….think…like we do?" I smiled slightly. "She's not mentally disabled, Edward. I'm not sure exactly what's wrong right now, but I assure you her mental ability will return to it's full capacity in time." I assured him.

He didn't seem satisfied with my answer. "Is it possible she's catatonic?" he asked tentatively.

"No. I assure you, Edward. She's fine. I think she might be drugged, but otherwise I've seen her in my visions. She's as healthy as we are, well, psychologically anyway."

I pressed toward the front door, Carlisle reached out taking her from my arms. "Esme is waiting upstairs for us. She has fixed up our room for the night for the girl to stay in temporarily. More permanent arrangements will be made when there is time." he spoke softly to me, though I knew everyone in the house could hear him.

As we entered the house Emmett walked up the stairs slowly following the rest of us, his hand intertwining with Rosalie's. I couldn't recall at the moment a time when he'd been so quiet and reserved.

We followed Carlisle to the threshold of his and Esme's room. Edward was the only person to follow him and the girl inside. Carlisle looked back at the three of us standing just outside the door, "That's all any of you can do for now, we'll let you know when things change or progress." he said as he gently dismissed us.

Edward turned to follow us down the stairs before Carlisle called gently for him to wait. I saw Edward look up at Carlisle, his eyes seemed saddened. I knew he wanted to welcome his new sister as easily as the rest of us, but her blood seemed to call him more strongly than it did to anyone else. Still I knew my brother, he would put himself in danger before he let his own weaknesses affect the rest of the family.

**EPOV**

I knew what Carlisle was going to ask of me before his mouth ever began to move. It was already in his thoughts. I waited, however, for him to voice the request, upset by the answer I would have to give; I hated to dash his hopes for this girl, but better that he learned the truth now rather than later.

"Seeing as she's not in a position to speak to us at the moment, I was wondering if it would be too uncomfortable for you to stay near by and assist us by relaying her thoughts." Carlisle said gently as Esme walked into the room from her bathroom. "The water's ready, I'll take her now." she smiled a motherly smile at Carlisle and the girl.

I wish I knew a better way to tell them the sad news. "I'd love to be of assistance, Carlisle,' I began, "but there's some kind of damage Alice must be unaware of; I can't hear her at all." My eyes still trained on her blank ones, trying to will myself into her mind.

"Like Alice said, Edward, she could just be drugged, or perhaps she's in such a state of shock her mind has taken on an impermanent state of catatonia." Carlisle replied, as he handed the thin, fragile girl into Esme's waiting arms. I watched as Esme carried her gingerly into the bathroom and closed the door but for a slight crack.

"No, Carlisle. I can hear the thoughts of people in the hospital under heavy sedation. Their thoughts are dream-like but they're there. I've been in every kind of psychiatric hospital and sanatorium during my years in medical school. This girl seems to be…..it's worse than I've ever seen, Carlisle. Even the very mentally ill have something I can read. This. This is…nothing. It's like there's no one in the room but you, Esme and I.

Carlisle sat down on the edge of his and Esme's bed as he pondered what I'd just given him. ""From what I can assess, with no medical tools, Edward, her vitals are clear…weak, but not in any immediate danger. What you're describing is….as if she were….for lack of a better word…a vegetable. Alice said she'd be fine in time. Is it possible you just can't hear her?" he looked up at me thoughtfully.

"It would be a first." I said dejectedly. I couldn't sway his opinion; he remained hopeful of her recovery. I was not as optimistic. "As it stands I am obviously not of any help. I think I am going to join Jasper on the hunt. I will be back late tonight." I turned and walked quickly out of the room and down the stairs, passing Alice on my way. I saw the hurt in her eyes. I knew I had no reason to distrust her visions, but I couldn't help but think how subjective her visions actually were. I was a man of fact. I had never come across a mind that did not yield even a little to me. It was much easier to believe that this time Alice was simply seeing what could have been had they reached her sooner.

She was alive, and while I had every confidence that Carlisle could save her body, I was loathe to admit that her mind was already too far gone. Pity actually. Her eyes had been such a deep, rich brown. How beautiful they would be if they held some glimmer consciousness. Her scent was absolutely overpowering. I'm glad the fresh air from the outside hit me when it did; I was beginning to have second thoughts about running back up the stairs and putting the poor thing out of her misery. Her blood seemed to call to me. It's siren song called my name as if it were made just for me. It lured my mind, my body ached to taste it. I felt ashamed that I wanted her so badly. After all my efforts how did this pitiful creature come into my life to torment me? I picked up speed as I neared a herd of deer. Not my preferred prey but right now anything that would keep me from turning back to that soft, fragile pale neck pulsing with the wine I so craved would do.

I drank that night more than I had in ages. I had drained every drop from the entire herd. When I could hold no more I just sat in the woods leaning against the trunk of a very old tree. I could faintly see the stars through the canopy overhead. In the east the sky was beginning to lighten. Still I sat. Waiting. Thinking. Lamenting.

I did not want to return to the house where I knew the blood lust would rise again in my throat before snaking it's way around my entire body. So here I sat. Avoiding the inevitable. My thoughts drifted to those deep chocolate eyes awaiting me at home.

**EsPOV**

I lowered her gently into the warm water. Her body seemed more fragile to me than most humans did, she seemed to have given up living at all. Her deep brown eyes seemed to just stare into the space before her. I wondered if she was taking in anything around her; I'd heard that even comatose patients could hear and understand to an extent what was going on around them. Carefully I washed her matted hair, taking greater care than necessary incase she was sensitive to tugging. After her hair was clean and combed out I began gently scrubbing her badly bruised body. Nothing I seemed to do made her flinch or even react at all. The longer I was with her the more I began to sadly suspect that Edward might be right about her mental state.

Once I had her bathed and dried, I dressed her in some of my more comfortable pajamas, being the closest to her size of the females in the house. I sat her gingerly in a chair in front of the vanity as I began to gently blow-dry her hair. I watched her expression in the mirror as I worked, much to my disappointment it did not seem to change. I spoke softly to her after her hair had dried as I brushed her long brown hair out a final time, never expecting a response, but I hoped that in some way my voice would soothe her.

I picked her feather-light body up from the chair and gently placed her in my bed, making sure she seemed, or rather looked comfortable as I pulled the thick comforter up to her chest, tucking her in slightly. My still heart would have broken if it could have just looking into her vacant eyes. Her delicate features so blank it was heart wrenching.

Carlisle walked slowly up behind me, his hand brushing my back as he continued toward her. "Sweetheart,' he said softly to the girl,' I have some medicine that will make you sleep, but first I need to draw some blood to make sure that the drugs I'm about to give you will not react to anything you may have been given, alright?" He sat gently beside her and placed a small phlebotomy kit that he kept in his office at Alice's most recent prompting, on the other side of her still legs, glad he'd followed her strange sounding advice at the time.

I turned my head as he drew a very small amount of blood from her arm nearest him. The scent of it hit me like a ton of bricks, it took all I had to turn around and walk out of the room and down the stairs to join the others in the living room.

All of them were seated on the white couches that were scattered throughout the spacious living area. They were all silent, Alice sitting with her head placed on a recently returned Jasper's shoulder. Rosalie was half leaning on the arm of the other couch nearest Alice and Jasper, Emmett's' arm around her waist though he sat somewhat beneath her on the cushions. As I entered they all looked up at me expectantly as if I had news on a loved one returning from surgery. I gave them my best smile. "She'll be resting soon." I said as I watched the sun rise through the eastern windows.

We all turned at the sound of the front door opening and waited silently while Edward walked into our presence at a slow human pace.

None of us could blame him for needing to take an impromptu hunting trip; her blood tempted us all, though perhaps not to the extent I knew it had tormented him. I was thankful Carlisle was quick when it came to drawing blood, hoping the scent wouldn't linger as Edward ascended the stairs to his own room.

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** A/N: Hope you like! R&R please!**


	4. Chapter 3 New Beginnings

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and alerts!  
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**Unfortunately I do not own Edward Cullen (or any of the Twilight chars) but I wish I did! Stephenie Meyers is so lucky....  
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**AS always thanks to my betas (Eyeliner_Vampire and thesugarbuzzproject)**

**Enjoy!**

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**EPOV**

I could smell the recent scent of an irresistible bouquet of the most delectable blood to ever flow through a human's veins as I ascended the stairs. I walked quickly past the second floor hoping the scent would somehow not reach me in my room. Silently I thanked Carlisle for using a larger amount of rubbing alcohol than necessary to try to cover the scent…though it did not hide it, it did help to serve as a reminder that the beautiful aroma was not something my mind wanted me to partake of though my body screamed otherwise.

I could hear Carlisle projecting his thoughts to me as he heard me pass…'Phencyclidine, Edward. Somehow she has ingested something tainted or laced with PCP, possibly as a cruel joke on the part of her kidnappers. I've given her a heavy sleeping aid that should have no reaction with anything she might have ingested, but we don't know her allergies if any, so we will need to listen closely for her vitals to drop.'

"I'll do what I can." I replied as I sank onto my couch, willing my mind to wander, trying hard to ignore her blood's irresistible bouquet.

"She should fall asleep in the next few minutes,' Carlisle replied. 'Perhaps she will feel better when she wakes."

I nodded silently. I could not bear to dash his hopes any further. I just hoped I was wrong against all odds, though I could see no way how I could be; the only silent minds I had ever encountered were dead ones.

Nearly an hour had passed, my senses were beginning to become accustomed, however slight, to our newest addition. My body finally beginning to relax a bit when a bloodcurdling shriek pierced the still early morning air around me.

Instinctively my body sprang to full alert, before I knew it I was on my feet and running at vampire speed down the stairs…I hesitated outside the closed door to Carlisle's room, wondering why the hell no one else had joined me in rushing to what could only have been her screams…the closer I drew to the door the louder they became, my stone heart ripped apart with every terrifying shriek at the pain and fear that was held within each one.

Finally I could take no more, my hand slid onto the knob as I entered the room, my mind prepared for the worst sight imaginable. As I entered the dimly lit room my determination turned to shock as my eyes came to rest on her still, small body. The screams still penetrated my mind, but I feared for my mental status as I tried to make sense of the vision before my eyes. She was breathing, her heart was beating at a normal pace, her face so serene as if she was having the most pleasant dreams imaginable…but her mind….

After only seconds I couldn't take it any longer, I walked quickly over to her still form lying on the bed. As I placed my hands on her frail shoulders an electrifying shock coursed through my entire body…still I could not release her until the screaming in my mind was silenced. I shook her gently at first, the force beginning to increase slightly…my terrified mentality escalated as I felt Emmett's strong arms pull me from the grasp I held on her…Carlisle was rushing to her and Jasper was not far behind him; I could feel him forcing waves of calm upon me as Carlisle slid the slender needle into her arm and pushing the clear liquid through her veins. She began to stir and immediately the shrieking subsided. My throat burned vehemently, but I realized that this time it was not from the thirst…I had been screaming. I felt my breathing begin to slow; I had not realized that it had ever increased until it began to return to normal.

I turned to face Carlisle, my eyes still wide. I knew he could see the terror etched in my features, as he struggled for words. "We came as fast as we could, I…didn't hear a change in her vital signs, Edward. Why did you rush to her?" I could see in his eyes he was fighting against what his mind had already formed; he thought I could resist her blood no longer, that I was about to indulge my weakness with the warm red liquid pulsing through her body.

"I wasn't here to…that's not why I came running. Her mind was on fire with pain and terror. The screaming. I couldn't take the screaming. I was trying to wake her up." I stammered.

Carlisle's eyes seemed to soften, "You were screaming, Edward." he replied softly.

"I didn't realize it until just now." I said weakly.

Carlisle just nodded, turning to his patient. "Perhaps next time we won't put her under so deeply. The medication I gave her seems to have given her nightmares. We'll be able to change that once the Phencyclidine or, PCP as it's most commonly referred to,

begins to drain from her system. It shouldn't take long."

I nodded again, not knowing exactly what to say about my most recent behavior. I felt as if I had temporarily lost my mind.

I turned my attention back to the girl laying in my father's bed, straining my mind to reach out to hers again, knowing now that I could hear something from her. Her alertness, however, seemed to be blocking me again.

My eyes rested on hers, still staring ahead of her blankly. I was about to turn to go back to my room when her eyes met mine. I stopped mid-turn, our eyes locked onto one another's. She saw me. Her deep chocolate eyes held some flicker of consciousness as I held her gaze. I was not the only one who noticed. Carlisle, Emmet and Jasper all had their full attention trained on us, watching intently. Carlisle spoke first. "Sweetheart, this is Edward. I'm Carlisle. If you can hear us can you tell us your name? Can you speak at all?"

"She can hear you." I said. Carlisle seemed to get very excited at this, but I cut off his thought before he could voice it. "No, I still can't hear her. But she can hear us. She understands us."

"He's right." Jasper said behind me. "She's confused, a little afraid, but mostly….sad? Sorry…that last emotion seems to keep changing between…I don't know, it switches too fast."

"She's fully conscious, though." he finished, sounding more than a little confused himself.

Her eyes had never left mine…they seemed to speak to me. I briefly wondered if anyone else in the room got the same impression, but then jealously pushed that thought as far to the back of my mind as it would go. 'No; this connection is mine. Mine alone.' I thought even more jealously…What was the matter with me? These are my brothers, my father…they only wanted to help her as much as I did. I couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of annoyance at Jasper for being able to feel her emotions. I knew he was just as confused at my own current feelings; I could feel him break his own gaze from her to stare at me. His mind was silent. My emotions toward him and the others had shocked him into silence. Now guilt came to mingle in with the other confusing but unshakable emotions pouring forth from my body.

Tension in the room seemed to be thickening as we just stood there, no one speaking, none of them daring to even think anything. I could see that they had clearly come to the conclusion that I was losing my mind. I wasn't entirely sure they were wrong. What was this possessive feeling I now had to this pitiful creature? Where had these protective feelings come from? I moved tentatively closer to the fragile child, I'm not entirely sure when I had gone from standing before her to sitting at her side. Words were no longer a necessary means of communication. I had the strangest feeling this creature could see into my mind as easily as I could see into others'. But her own mind was still hidden from me. I had the oddest feeling she was doing this intentionally.

How or why I did not know, but I was certain of it. Finally she closed her beautiful large eyes and lay back onto the pillow, her head sinking into them. My trance was broken. I felt as if I had been released from the gaze of a predator, but that I'd do nearly anything to regain it. It was then that I truly understood the meaning of 'irony'.

I hadn't realized that I had been holding my breath. Though breathing was certainly not a necessary function for me, I found it slightly uncomfortable not to do it.

I looked up at Carlisle who I now realized had been eyeing me warily. His thoughts were no longer worried that I would take her life. He could not place the feelings he had right now. Jasper, I realized, could not either. They looked at each other, baffled at what had transpired in the past few minutes. I knew they'd mention none of it to the others, who were at this moment out shopping for more suitable furniture and accessories for our newest younger sister; they had no idea how to explain it in any case.

I looked slowly back at the girl. Her eyes remained closed. How I wished I knew her name. My supreme desire, now, was to hear her voice. My ears craved to hear her speak my name. As I looked upon her delicate features I felt as if nothing else in the world existed, nothing else in the world mattered. It was as if there were only two people now in existence….she and I. A strange peace settled over me.

She fell into a light sleep which lasted for the rest of the day. My sisters and mother arrived home in the early afternoon followed by a delivery truck. Carlisle had convinced me to return to my room or elsewhere to allow the child in his room to sleep as much as she could. I did so reluctantly, but my curiosity got the better of me when I heard the women drive up in front of the house.

Two large, burly men entered the front door, held open by Esme, carrying a large bed frame. One of them stopped momentarily to ask her where she wanted it. She seemed to hesitate for a moment; clearly she hadn't given the 'where' as much thought as the 'what'.

"Third floor,' I said, my voice full of a strange authority I had not known before. "Empty bedroom at the end of the hallway. Far left."

Esme looked at me, about to protest. She knew how strongly the girl's blood called to me, her maternal instincts were kicking in.

Before she could reply I cut her off, "It's fine, Esme. Just trust me."

The men were followed by at least a half dozen more men carrying almost as many pieces of furniture. Clearly Alice had had a hand in this expedition. Emmett and Jasper came in carrying loads of shopping bags from the trunk of Esme's car.

I stayed at the foot of the stairs ensuring that everything went as I had said.

Alice came to stand beside me. Even without reading her thoughts I could tell she was signaling some silent support of me to the others. And I knew that the others, every single one of them, were baffled beyond words. I knew that they had every reason to be. But I didn't care to enlighten them. I hated feeling so stand-offish toward them, but the feeling to put my foot down seemed even stronger than the guilt.

After the delivery men had loaded back in their trucks and left I headed upstairs to the third floor. I didn't care how the items were arranged in the room directly across from mine as long as they remained there. It would take the whole house full of vampires and every ounce of strength they possessed to fight anything out of that room.

The girls were already finished arranging the furniture as Alice shooed Jasper and Emmett from the room. She glanced up at me with a slight grin on her face. I knew she would not shoo me away, nor would she even try. As if I could be moved right now.

Esme and Rosalie were putting sheets and linens on the bed while Alice was quickly but carefully hanging newly bought clothing into the large closet. The bed finished, Rosalie and Esme busied themselves putting more delicate clothing into the newly purchased bureau and armoire. Alice arranged pretty little trinkets around the room and was putting the final touches on a small cherry wood table and matching cushioned chairs. The bed was exquisite; a large, full-sized, four-poster, stained cherry-wood design that connected the tall posts with wrought iron rods curling whimsically toward the center of the bed meeting in a certain spiraling point. Esme and Rose had accentuated this feature by draping yards of sheer white muslin artfully over the wrought-iron pieces falling gracefully to the floor. The comforter and duvet were also white, but in a richly decorated Jacquard silk blend that matched the pattern on the chairs perfectly.

The bureau and armoire blended beautifully with the stained cherry wood of the bed and Rose and Esme had truly outdone themselves on the minor décor of the room. A few carefully chosen pieces of artwork were spaced through out the room, in soft, flowing pastels. The flowers arranged in the crystal vase on the table were roses of the softest pink I had ever seen. Everything was perfect. I could hardly wait to bring my…..my what? What was this girl to me? Certainly I felt a connection with her, but I couldn't honestly think of her as merely my sister.

I didn't quite know, now that I thought about it, exactly how I felt about this girl other than that if anyone so much as touched her without my knowledge I would personally rip them apart be they family or foe.

**APOV**

A feeling of paramount satisfaction washed over me as I stepped back to admire our handiwork. The room simply sparkled with good taste. But beyond that I think what really satisfied me was the fact that the obvious importance of my visions and the rescue of this girl was finally beginning to come together and make some sense.

As we were in the car on our way to Seattle to shop for our newest little sister this morning I was hit by a very clear vision. I smiled remembering the sight. I had known it could only be this clear if it were already decided. I saw my brother looking intently into the girls eyes…his face conveyed the intensity of his feelings toward her, even though he did not even now comprehend what had transpired between them.

She was for him! He was the true reason behind this mission. I tried very hard not to think these very thoughts as I looked up into his face as he surveyed the room. He was too lost in his own thoughts to worry about listening to mine, but still I guarded this particular thought from him; I knew my brother, and he was not the type to admit to such feelings he had before he was ready to fully accept them himself.

"Do you like it?" I smiled, unable to contain my contentment.

I knew it would be a few moments before he found the right words. "It's perfect for her." He said softly, his voice full of emotion.

"I thought so too." I said, enjoying standing at his side as he took in every detail he surveyed. Rose and Esme had slipped quietly out of the room once the finishing touches were in place. "We won't move her until tomorrow morning, the room will look absolutely magical in the morning light; the sun will be out tomorrow." I breathed happily. Edward nodded in response as he walked quietly over to the table that held the crystal rose vase. His long fingers lightly grazed the petals of the delicate flowers therein. I could not fathom the emotions that were shadowed in his liquid gold eyes. This was one of those times that I wished I had Jasper by my side whispering every detail to me; it was the closest thing I would have to reading his mind.

After spending a considerable time in my new little sister's room just watching as Edward felt and touched every surface he passed, half inspecting the quality, which he knew would be impeccable thanks to Rose, Esme and I, and half fantasizing about the girl actually residing in this room just down the hallway from him.

When both doors were open you could see practically every corner of one room from the other equally. The two rooms were the only two in the house without their own attached bathrooms, but the hallway between them housed the largest bathroom in the whole house. Until now Edward had had it all to himself. Smiling to myself I somehow guessed he wouldn't mind sharing it from now on.

I grinned as I finally decided to leave him in peace as I turned to join Jasper and the others. I couldn't wait to get Jasper alone in our room to grill him for details about the vision I'd had today. This was certainly going to be interesting. Not only did we have a human living in the house with us, but my usually distant brother had grown a severe obsession and protective streak literally over night! Life in the Cullen household would certainly never seem boring again!

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**A/N: R&R please! Cookies for all who review!**


	5. Chapter 4 Dreaming Reality

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reviews! I love hearing from you all...sorry so long between these chapters, been working on holiday writers' block...but no worries! I've got some ideas that may get put into play very soon. **

**On another note: I now have a forum (reachable through my profile) for you guys to submit ideas for future stories - why? I write what I like to read, but I really wanna know what you want to read about, so if you have an idea or lot line that you dont feel like writing about, please let me know! More info the forum! See you there!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight or anything related to it; but I sure wished I owned those hot Cullen boys!**

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**_JamesPOV_**

I could smell them long before we reached the lair, their stench filled the air surrounding my domain. I cast one furious looks back at Victoria. Her eyes filled with hatred. I ripped the hinges off the door of the old warehouse, my mind and breathing racing, I could feel the anger rushing through my veins as I climbed the metal staircase to the catwalk. Even at Vampire speed I could not seem to move fast enough. I raced to the bathroom door, and had it fling open before Victoria could even reach the foot of the stairs. I knew what I would find before I ever entered the building, however. My 'child' was gone. I felt the anger surge higher and meld into rage. The ones who did this would pay.

She was mine. I had waited many years for her body to mature enough for me to enjoy my long awaited feast. No being on earth would deprive me from this. Of that I was sure. I tilted my head slightly. Only one good thing could come of this…the feast of the century would be preceded by prime entertainment indeed. The execution of the three who stole my most prized possession as well as any who stood in my way.

I'd kill my own mate of two hundred sixty one years to get at the blood that flowed in that little girl if she chose to stand in my way. But my rage could not be contained in the satisfaction that was to come, I turned from the sight of the empty bathroom to face Victoria, who was holding our latest victim; a scared little teenage human girl, larger than my Bella, of course…she, along with Bella, was intended to be the entertainment before the climax I had been so longing in the past few months. Her body, finally as mature as time would allow, was calling to me more and more lately.

I would have had my final carnal fling with her and the new girl this very evening had my dearest possession not been snatched right from under me. The thought of what I was going to miss caused the fire in my veins to rise even higher. I reached out and grabbed the girl Victoria was holding, whimpering, my the shoulder. I could hear a loud pop followed by a piercing cream as I pulled her close to me at an inhuman speed. Her arm now hung limply from her body, swinging in an unnatural way, the ball of her shoulder totally dislocated from her socket. I allowed my anger to lead my instincts as I drew her pulsing jugular to my lips. No ordinary bite would suffice, no, this girl would pay the immediate price for the actions of these unknowns who dared to thieve from me. I ripped a large chunk out of her neck and quickly drained her…no other sound had time to escape from her painted lips before she went totally limp in my arms. with the last drop gone I took her body and flung it behind me. It landed with a loud crash and thud in a heap on the floor. I walked over and stomped the body repeatedly, it mattered not to me that the girl could no longer feel my rage as my foot crushed the pathetic creature's bones to powder.

Victoria stood on the other side of the room watching me complacently as I wound down from my tantrum. I walked over to her, planting a kiss on her full lips. "Time to go hunting." I said before releasing her and walking toward the door…my mind already making note of the faint scent of my new enemies and their prey…my prey…the scent had faded slightly, and I knew most of it would be lost to the wind, but I would find them. I was patient. The journey was half the fun.

**EPOV**

I could hear Carlisle pacing her room. I knew he was just as confused as to the events of the day as the rest of us, but he kept his mind carefully guarded from me while he was with her_. __"She's asleep now, Edward." _He thought as he softly retreated from her room. It took everything I had not to descend the flight of stairs and enter the room. The sight of her peacefully sleeping kept floating across my mind's eye. I grabbed the remote to my stereo and turned the volume up, the soothing sounds of Enya filled my room. Hours had passed since the episode this morning, afternoon had come and gone and finally the sun was setting in the western sky. Hours and no thoughts whatsoever had come from the beautiful fragile girl downstairs. My mind reeled. 'A fluke.' I thought to myself. It must have been. How else could I explain what had happened today. I sighed as I watched the sun set behind the clouds. The fiery twilight burned in amazing shades of oranges, pinks and purples. The music helped me lose my self in the sight. Lost in the twilight, feeling the colors and melding into them. A wave of calm passed through out my body as I relaxed into my couch, a cool evening breeze washed over me.

I began to daydream about the things that would take place in the morning, bringing the girl to her room, newly furnished thanks to Alice, Esme and Rose.

I closed my eyes as the sky grew darker, not wanting to let go of the twilight just yet. Soft footsteps padded their way up on the stairs. Alice would see me lost in thought and would let me be. Closer now…they were right outside my room, the door was open. Anytime now they would turn and softly retreat. I kept my eyes closed, determined not to be disturbed.

"_Edward" _I heard, not with my ears, but with my mind. _"Edward" _again I heard the sound of my name, but it was not Alice's 'voice' that spoke it. Nor was it Esme's or Rosalie.

My eyes flew open and slowly moved toward my open doorway, hoping but at the same time unwilling to believe what I was seeing.

The girl stood in my door way. Still so fragile looking, her eyes held none of the alertness of this morning's encounter. I forced myself to sit up slowly, determined not to disturb or frighten her in any way. Almost as if in slow motion she began to move, not away, but forward, toward me. My eyes lost in her own once again. She pulled me toward her with a strength that surpassed the pull of the moon to the tides.

"_Edward" _I 'heard' again. "Yes, I am Edward. What is your name?" I spoke softly not wanting to cause any disturbance whatsoever to her. She seemed so serene, as if in a dream. _"Bella" _I heard, though her lips did not move. "Bella,' I said aloud, I could hear the others creeping up the stairs, hearing my side of the conversation, but not wanting to interrupt.

"It's very nice to meet you, Bella. Can I get you anything?" I said not really knowing what to expect. Not knowing what to say. Some how this girl, _Bella_, tongue-tied me, caused me to be self conscious, she made me…_nervous_.

She walked over to me, I found myself standing looking down at her pale face. She stood close, very close, her scent rolling off of her with every beat of her heart, every movement of her long mahogany hair. Her breath was like a concentration of her scent, strong and sweet. I could make out the notes of her alluring smell as we stood gazing at one another. Freesia and strawberries. Delicious in so many ways. My hands ached to caress her face.

Carlisle appeared in the doorway, moving slowly toward us. Worry evident on his face as he reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. She turned long enough to look at him before her body began to relax in his arms. Her eyes closed and she lay back as if fainting. Carlisle's vampiric reflexes were ready for her, though, as he gently swept her into a cradled position, her body now limp with the unconsciousness of a deep sleep.

He looked up at me apologetically, I'd never felt so confused in one day as I had today.

"I was half expecting this, though not until later on." Carlisle said, as he looked down at her sleeping form.

"She was sleep walking?" I asked, my mind fighting against that idea with everything I had.

"It would seem so, the drugs she had been given can often cause sleep walking, night terrors, not to mention all sorts of horrifying side effects. If my guess is correct as to when she had ingested them, it should begin to ware off in the next 12 hours. I'm going to need your medical training to be the substitute for mine while I'm at work. I'm going back tomorrow, so in every sense you'll be the attending physician to her." He said as we walked side by side to her temporary room." It seems you have your instincts under control, so life will progress as normal for everyone else. Jasper and Alice will go back to school, Rose and Emmett will be going back to their home in Vancouver tonight, Esme will be here off and on through out the day, so you won't be totally alone, but she has a few appointments to see to as well." He finished as he lay her gently onto the bed and turned to face me.

"What about me going back to school, Carlisle? I'm pretending to be the same age as Alice and Jasper." I countered, half of me not wanting to think about being in the house alone with her for any amount of time.

"That has been taken care of. I informed the school today that you will be spending some time with Emmett while he is away at college, and taking a few courses of your own while you're there. I'm sure your teachers will agree to your academic superiority enough to believe that story. Besides there are only two months left in the school year and you'll be 'coming back' for junior year here in Forks. If all goes well you'll be starting the school year with a new 'sister' so…." Carlisle's words trailed off.

So it was already decided. I would be playing 'doctor' for the summer. I only hoped I could retain some sort of objectivity that was the cardinal rule for all physicians. I'd learned early on in medical school not to get attached to a patient, especially one that was very ill. It had not been hard; I was not inclined to become attached or even friendly with humans. Several girls at Forks High School could certainly attest to that fact. One in particular, a very 'pushy' sort of girl, Jessica Stanley, had practically thrown herself at me the first half of the semester. It took weeks for me to get through her thick skull that she obviously wasn't my type. I must say on her account, however, she was persistent. She would surely go far in a career if she wanted it half as bad as she had wanted me.

**BPOV**

My eyes tried to focus as my brain tried to comprehend what had woken me up. Then I heard it again. A light tapping sound. I struggled to sit in an upright position, but my arms were so weak all that I could manage was leaning slightly propped on my right elbow. The door to the room I was in opened slowly and three females entered the room. Immediately I stiffened. They were vampires! But none of them was Victoria. Slowly the smallest one approached me. A pleasant smile graced her lovely elfin features. "You might not remember me, my name is Alice. This is my sister Rosalie and my mother Esme." she gestured to the other females standing slightly behind her. I shook my head…I certainly would have remembered meeting vampires other than Victoria and James. I vaguely wondered at their whereabouts. Surely they wouldn't have left me in such comfortable surroundings, with such pleasant sounding vampires to look after me.

'_A dream_.' I concluded, this was another dream. I had been having such lovely ones lately, I was sure James had given me some sort of hallucinogen.

I wished I could have the dream about the bronze-haired boy again. That was my favorite.

"Can you walk?" Alice persisted, interrupting my thoughts. I shook my head again, I was beginning to feel tired even propping myself up as pitifully as I had.

Gently she leaned forward pulling me into her arms, I placed one hand around her neck as she lifted me effortlessly off the bed. She smelled like lavender and rose petals, I inhaled her scent deeply resting my head lightly on her cheek. I felt calm, relaxed and peaceful as I was carried out of the room and up a flight of stairs. My eyelids shut, for fear of feeling light-headed.

I hoped at that moment to never wake from this dream; I felt as if I were being carried by angels on the stairway that led to heaven. The morning light seemed to grow brighter with each step we took. Time seemed to slow, but eventually we reached a landing at the top of the long staircase.

The last few steps I decided to open my eyes and I'm so very glad I did; waiting at the top of the stair was the beautiful boy I had dreamed about. His expression, unsmiling, but so tender and soft. I found myself staring though I knew that the males did not like it. I tried as hard as I could to avert my eyes; I did not want this dark angel to assume I was challenging him. Even in my dreams I did not want this exquisite creature to suddenly become my assailant. Goodness knows I had enough of that in reality and was certain for more once James returned and woke me from my drug-induced slumber.

I lowered my gaze at the last moment, but not before I was close enough to take notice of the color of his smoldering eyes. _Golden_. Now I was certain I was dreaming. All vampires' eyes were some shade of red. At the landing we turned right in front of the beautiful boy and continued down the hall to a room decorated in white and soft pastels. We paused at the door. The little vampire holding me breathed softly, "We didn't know your tastes so we chose the pallet based on your skin and hair colors. You're so pale you will simply melt into the whites and eggshells on the bed, but your hair will pop against the pastels."

I gasped for breath as my eyes drifted around the room. Sunlight shone in rays through the large box window on the east wall. I smiled slightly as a memory of my mother came to me. She had called them sun strings because it looked as if you could reach out and pull one of the rays as they filtered through the sparse clouds. How long had it been since I though of her?

I felt myself moving and realized that Alice was taking me over to the bed. She set me gently down, her hand not leaving my back until she was content that my pillows were arranged properly behind me. As she lay me gently back onto them I remember thinking that I'd never felt anything so soft. Surely heaven's clouds could not compare.

When she was content with my position she backed slowly away. Alice's mother, Esme, walked over placing her hand ever so softly on my cheek, leaning in to kiss my forehead. "I will be here most of the time. All you ever need do is call and I'll be right here to assist you with anything. I know you have needs that differ slightly from ours and I want you to think of us as your family now and not be afraid to ask for anything." she said, her voice full of gentle authority.

I was confused. Was I dreaming? How I wish I could find my voice; for so long I had to train my self to be as silent as possible; even the slightest sound from me seemed to send James into a rage. I knew it was because I wasn't big enough yet. It infuriated him how slowly I grew.

If this were a dream, surely it would not hurt to speak. If by chance I spoke in my sleep, perhaps James would finally drain me and I could stay in this dream forever or drift into oblivion. Anything would be better than the life I had now, even not existing.

The females retreated quietly from the room as two males took their place by the bed. One I did not recognize, the other was my dream angel. He did not look at me; only stood by as the other male began to explain something rather methodically, as my faint memories of doctors I'd visited frequently in my childhood.

"We are not like the vampires I'm sure you are accustomed to. My family and I do not drink human blood, but instead survive on the blood of animals. You have nothing to fear from us. We would like for you to think of us as your family now, at least until we can find your real family…" he paused, obviously waiting on my response.

"They were killed…" I said, my voice raspy and barely above a whisper, but I knew he, and possibly all the vampires within two miles radius, could hear me.

"As I suspected." he said quietly. "My name is Carlisle, and this is Edward, my son. We will be your physicians as long as you require medical attention. I will, however need to leave you in Edwards' care while I go to work, but if you need anything at all, you need only call Edward or Esme, they will see to all your needs." he said smiling and he stood to turn and leave.

Edward, however, remained standing as the other descended the stairway. He looked up to me, not quite meeting my eyes as he spoke. "So you can talk." he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. I nodded, afraid to look at him directly, but completely unable to look away.

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**A/N: Review please! Reviews are like half-naked Cullen boys holding hot steamy cookies! Yummy!**


	6. Chapter 5 Dr Cullen

**A/N: I really want to thank everyone for all the reviews and adds (alerts, favorites, etc) You have NO idea how much it thrills me that people are actually reading what I write.**

**ATTENTION: This chapter (and subsequent ones) WILL have images that might be very disturbing to some people. If you are sensitive to disturbing thoughts (these are some of her flashbacks, etc.) please note you have been WARNED!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the thoughts in my head, Stephenie Meyer is the all powerful owner of all things Twilight.**

**Thanks to my Betas: Eyeliner_Vampire and packetstorm5150 a.k.a. my husband! You guys are awesome!**

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**BPOV**

My eyes were riveted to the beautiful boy before me. I took in everything, his intense golden eyes, his bronze hair, his firm chiseled muscular arms, his long slender fingers, still feeling as if I were in a dream. In fact I wasn't entirely sure that I wasn't dreaming. I just kept hoping that if I were that I'd never wake up.

His voice floated through the air filing the room with a sound that was not unlike singing.

"As your attending physician I will have to do a brief examination, does that bother you? If you would be more comfortable waiting for Carlisle, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to put it off for eight to ten hours."

I shook my head slightly, "No,' I said weakly, "it doesn't bother me."

His face fell slightly as if he'd been hoping I'd have answered otherwise. "All right then,' he muttered dejectedly 'I'm going to be as un-invasive as possible. Your heart beat sounds normal, as does your breathing. Since you are coming down off a drug I will check your pupils and reflexes. Can you tell me how it came to be that you ingested PCP? Your blood stream showed that it was most likely ingested orally."

I gasped slightly as his cool hands touched the delicate skin around my eyes, his pen light disoriented me slightly for a moment. He checked my reflexes so quickly I barely had time to register what he had done.

"Um,' it was in the blood." I answered. His face contorted into a beautiful mixture of confusion and frustration. "I know, I just said so. What I'm asking you is how it got into your bloodstream by you ingesting it by mouth. Why did you do it?"

I let out a short sigh; obviously he thought I might still be high from the effects of the drug.

"It was in the blood I drank. The man who supplied the blood was, when he was alive, what little I saw of it, seemed to be strung out on something. James thought it would be funny to see what happened when I drank his blood. Guess he wasn't disappointed." I spoke, my voice barely above a whisper; I didn't like remembering James or his cruel jokes at my expense. I longed to hear Edward's voice again, but I thoroughly hoped that his line of questioning would remain more to the here and now rather than on James' games.

With my luck, however, I should have known better. He spoke softly, hearing the discomfort in my tone, I could tell he wanted to make me comfortable, but as this might be medically necessary to know, he had to continue.

"He made you drink human blood?"

"Yes,' I began, better to get this all out rather than draw it out into days; perhaps if I divulged everything I knew now, Edward, Carlisle and everyone else would drop it and let me be. 'It's his favorite 'game'; he bites, I drink. Sometimes it made me sick and I would vomit it up; that'd only make him angry, so I've learned to stomach it. Other times, when the person is an addict, I end up getting high, or stoned or whatever. Heroin addicts are the best, I suppose; the heroin, once in my stomach makes me sleep for days. But usually the people are just lost or…" my voice cracked a bit on the last words; some parts of the games are too awful to recount, but Edward pressed on.

"I'm not only a medical doctor, but I was more thoroughly trained in the field of psychology. I know the memories might be painful, but I think it might help you recover more quickly the sooner you get them out." His voice was like thick velvet. I could listen to it for hours and never hear it enough. I knew his words were true, but I wasn't sure if I wanted this beautiful vampire to know the horrors that I had committed. As if he suspected just that, he moved toward the bed, sitting lightly on the edge to my right just even with my thigh. "Nothing you say about what you have gone through will leave this room. Just because we are in less formal surroundings, the doctor/patient confidentiality will remain intact just as if you were lying in a hospital bed." he murmured.

"It's just that, I've done things…" I began, my eyes filling with tears, "things I never want anyone to know… I'm a monster, Edward. A horrible…" I could hold it no longer; the tears spilled over my cheeks in streams. No matter how hard I tried to stem the flow still they poured from my eyes uncontrollably.

I felt a cold hand on my chin, lifting my bowed head, my teary brown eyes meeting his soft golden ones. He spoke slowly and deliberately, enunciating every syllable to be sure I did not misunderstand. "You are no monster, Bella. The monster is the one who did this to you. This James, he is the unspeakable creature you are thinking of; none of this is or ever could be your fault. You are the victim here, not the perpetrator. I know your mind is having trouble rationalizing what you were forced to do and why, but it is very likely that if you think of it every day until you die you would never come up with a solution. No matter what you have done in your life you did not deserve this and none of it will ever be held to your accountability. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head. He continued, "Why don't we start with some easier questions; how long were you with James?"

This was a little easier, I thought…maybe I could build up to answering what he wanted to know. If only he knew how much I wanted to please his every whim…but I didn't see how I could do that without him seeing the wretch that I truly was. I was a monster; I survived mostly on human blood, moldy human food and stagnant water. At least the blood was warm.

"Since I was five. But I'm not exactly sure how long ago that was. I know the year that I was five, if it helps any; my parents died that year, in 1992, but James kept me inside that warehouse, I lived in the little bathroom while they were away hunting. But even the larger room had very small windows. I often lost track of day and night."

He just stared at me as if he were trying to hear words beyond what I was saying. Finally after a short pause and awkward silence he spoke. "1992 was eleven years ago. When is your birthday?"

"September 13th." I whispered.

"You're sixteen." he said softly.

"I assume you have had no form of schooling. That can easily be taken care of; I've been to college three times, to medical school twice, I have a doctorate in Psychology and I'm sure I would make a satisfactory teacher, if you would consent, of course." He spoke quickly and quietly, his eyes focused on the bed sheets.

"Of course." I answered, his eyes lifted to my own, though his expression did not change his eyes seemed to convey a sense of pleasure. I felt locked in his gaze, it took all I had to tear my eyes away.

**EPOV**

My heart began to soar. I would be spending every waking moment with this exquisite creature. Her words affirmed it. I could spend the rest of eternity just gazing into those huge sienna eyes. As her physician and her tutor, which fortunately for the later I would have a lot of catching up to do, I would be in her presence every day for quite some time. It still bothered me that I had no idea what she was thinking, but hopefully in time her mind would open up to me fully.

I prodded her gently for more information; I couldn't learn enough about her. She was a classic case of PTSD and had internalized her status as a victim but turned it outward assuming she had had some kind of control and therefore could have rebelled against the horrible things James had made her do.

I smirked as I thought of the word she'd used, 'Monster', as if she, this vision of purity before my eyes, could ever amount to something, anything, worthy of the title she bestowed upon herself. No, she was no monster; the monstrosity was the putrid, animalistic being who had forced his will upon her. If I ever came across his wretched hide I would personally rip it to shreds and burn every piece of his corpse. And very possibly piss on his ashes.

Even that would not undo the great injustice he had rendered upon this frail human. No being deserved what I'm sure he had exacted upon her.

"If we're going to begin the healing process, we need to discuss anything you feel comfortable sharing. You can begin anywhere you like, and if I can do anything to make you more comfortable in any way, please don't hesitate to ask. Alright?"

She nodded her head and I waited patiently for her to begin.

"I was five, like I said. After Victoria, James' mate, killed my mother they took me to the warehouse. I lived there on molded food they had their victims collect for me from dumpsters and garbage cans. The victims did things like that hoping to win their freedom; they were never freed. Most lived only hours, a few lasted for a day or two. They all became James and Victoria's food and often mine as well. I drank stagnant water that was brought to me; the sink and toilet in the bathroom didn't work, no water flowed there at all, at least that would have been fresh. They never let me go hungry; even as ignorant as they are, they knew they had to keep me more than barely alive if they wanted their investment to pay off. They knew just how bad the food could be before it caused infection or illness. That was not allowed; my blood was to be kept healthy, even if my body was not. Then one day James got an idea; that my blood would be even richer if I fed on blood as they did. They sniffed out each victim before it was given to me, most were clean, a few were high, none were sick in any way; I suppose that's how I've lived this long.

The first time I….tasted…blood, James threw the young girl at my feet, she was scared, crying. She had to be around the age of seven, eight maybe…I must have been only a year or two older than that. I suppose James thought I could do it on my own; he told me to bite her on her neck…I tried; I left behind a good bruise, but my teeth are nothing compared to theirs; when I bit her she screamed so loud, I hated myself for what I did, I still do, but by then I knew better than to defy James; I'd barely lived through it so often before that, so when I bit her I used all the force in my body; I tried to do it quick and put the poor thing out of her misery. But I wasn't strong enough; James found this particularly amusing and ordered me to try again. I tried, but it just wouldn't break; my ten year old jaw had not enough strength to rend both skin, muscle and veins like James' could. She screamed so loud, the second time I broke the skin a little, but James was impatient and took her from me. He tore a good sized hole on her neck and the blood just started gushing out of her. He forced my mouth onto her and told me to swallow every drop or I'd be beaten again. I swallowed what I could between the retching and gagging, I vomited once, but he forced me to continue. After a week had passed and I did not get sick or die, he decided that blood would become a staple of my diet. And so it has been for all this time."

She finished quietly, the tears still glistening in her chocolate eyes. I knew what blood tasted like to me; human or animal, it was indescribable. But humans were so vastly different from us. The taste, even the sight or smell of blood often made them faint. I was appalled at what James had done, yet impressed that a human could be at least partially sustained on a diet of what held the key to immortals' sanity.

I was slightly surprised when she continued, "I was his toy as much as I was his experiment; he would bring people…different ages, different genders…to 'entertain me' though it was for his entertainment alone….sometimes he would play the pimp, other times he just kidnapped some poor soul and forced them to touch and molest me as much as I was forced to endure it. They did what they did out of hope; they hoped if they satisfied his carnal desires he would grant them their lives…of course they never knew that he was more than human until it was already too late."

She stopped again.

I spoke as softly as I could though allowing her to hear me; I didn't want to hurt her, but as her healer I needed to know, "So I take it you are not a virgin?"

Her eyes closed tightly, the tears beginning to fall again, though more lightly this time.

"No." she whispered. " I'm not."

I nodded lightly, my eyes averted to the patterns on the bed linens, "I will ask Carlisle to examine you later this evening. I think it would be best to test you for STDs as well as…other things." She nodded her head, her eyes still closed.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Bella. What happened to you was not your fault nor could you have done anything to prevent it."

My silent heart broke for her, I wished fervently that I could ease her pain, but I knew that if that were at all possible, today was not going to be that day.

I decided to change the subject; though I wanted to know more, I felt that she had made more than enough progress for one day.

"Carlisle mentioned some lesions and contusions on your back, sides and legs. Do you feel comfortable having me examine them or would you rather wait on Carlisle?"

She shook her head, her soft voice caressing my ears once again, "No, it won't bother me; Carlisle has enough to do; I'm sure he doesn't want to come home from work only to do more work." I couldn't help but smile at the fact that she inundated us with such mortal capacities. But the fact that she lived around vampires practically her entire life, knew their mannerisms and yet bestowed such human qualities as physical weariness, or mental exhaustion upon one of us was indeed a good sign; she saw us as a different order of being than her vampire captors had been. Though in my mind I knew we were all the same vile, bloodthirsty creatures, the fact that our conscious decisions were already noted by this young human gave me a light of hope. She had separated us from her abductors mentally; this was very good, she was trusting us already!

I moved slowly toward her, "Let's look at your back first, then you can lie down comfortably for the rest of the exam; I want to cause you as little discomfort as possible." I helped her lean forward, holding her with one hand I gently lifted the back of her pajama shirt, the bruises were still fresh, only the slightest bit of the outer rings were starting to turn from black to a deep purple. "Do you remember how you got these?" I asked as I pulled her shirt down over her back again and lay her onto her fluffed pillows. Her face reddened, the smell of her blood hit me full on. I stopped breathing until her face returned to a normal shade of pale, the slightest bit of flush remained in her cheeks creating the most beautiful effect.

"James…' she said, her eyes now focused on the comforter before her, 'made them right after I drank from the last guy….he…uh, he…" she struggled for the right words.

"He had intercourse with you." She sighed loudly nodding her head. How I wished he were before me now, I would rip him apart slowly beginning with his offending member.

"Are all of these from that?" I asked gingerly as I lifted the sides and front of her shirt slightly, as little as I could; I couldn't bear to cause her any more pain than she'd already endured. Honestly I was shocked that it hadn't killed her; vampires are incredibly strong, their bodies made of something akin to granite or marble, he could have crushed her with no force whatsoever, but yet she sustained no brakes or fractures, only these hideous bruises.

I finished appraising the contusions on her sides and moved slowly to her legs, feeling gently through the thin cotton pants covering her legs. "What part of your legs are affected?" I asked trying to dispel any anxiety on both our parts, hoping she would show me rather than me having to pull down her pants in the slightest. No such luck. "My upper thighs, he grabbed them really hard when he had me against the wall."

I nodded slightly, my eyes grazing her own gaze. "May I?" She let out a small gasp before nodding her head, 'good', I thought, 'she caught on.' She pulled at the band of her pajama bottoms exposing her upper and mid thigh. A growl too low for her ears to detect rumbled in the back of my throat; the bruises on her thighs were in the perfect shape of a man's… no, a vampire's hands.

Just as we were finishing up the exam I could hear Esme ascending the stairs. She knocked gently on the door before entering.

"Hello, Bella. I thought a nice warm bath might relax you a bit before you eat. If you feel like eating, that is."

Bella nodded her head. "That sounds very nice, thank you."

Esme beamed, "I'll just get your things ready. Edward, would you be a dear and carry her for me? Once I get the water run I'll take it from there. I'll let you know when we are about finished and you can bring her tray up." Esme commanded in her gentle, motherly voice. I picked her up into a cradle hold, careful not to upset the bruises that covered her fragile body. She lay her head against my chest as we walked the short distance from her bed to the bathroom we now shared in the hallway on the third floor. I set her gently into the vanity chair and retreated to her room to wait for Esme to call for me. I sat on her bed, her scent there was strong already as I inhaled it deeply. Her blood still sung to me, but it was more manageable the more I was around it. I sat in silence, the images she had spoken of flashed before me. The rage I felt had no outlet. That day would come, I was as sure of that as I was that my heart would never again beat within my chest. Someone who had cultured a prize like her for eleven years was not simply going to let her go so easily. It might take them time but they would find us, and when they did, I would avenge her. For what it was worth I would punish him for daring to exist in a world along side something so precious. Yes, he would pay dearly.

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** A/N: Ok, so how's that for you? Please review and I will post the next chapter (now complete) a.s.a.p.!!!** _** -You'll like the next one, I promise!**_


	7. Chapter 6 Be Still My Heart

**A/N: Oooohhhh! You guys were so great about giving me reviews I guess I'll have to keep my promise! I'm glad to, though, but be forewarned you are actually catching up to me! Chapter 7 is still in production, but I have much better direction now thanks to my #1 Beta (my husband) wwstewart! He helps me alot through writer's block! My other beta has also been awesome = Eyeliner-Vampire!**

**OK, so same warning as last chapter: Disturbing scenes will increase as the story goes on so be prepared, ok? If your squeamish...read carefully!**

**I own no Twilight related anything; that's Stephenie Meyer's good fortune!**

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**EPOV**

Her bath time and breakfast finished, I sat with her. The silence that surrounded us however was not awkward as I had assumed it would be. I spoke sometimes about my family and our ways, telling her about each member of the family. At times she would ask a question, quietly, bashfully, but always I would answer; I did not want her to feel as if any information or topic of conversation were off limits. There were no secrets within this family, for other than obvious reasons. We trusted each other implicitly, I wanted her to know this and eventually trust us as we did among ourselves. If it were in my power at all this wholesome child would never feel another moment of pain for the rest of her life.

After her lunch she began to tire and I left her side and retreated to my own room. I shut her door but left my own open, my ears straining to hear every breath that passed her lips, ever beat of her fragile heart. Finally I found the strength to absorb myself in a book, every now and then looking up to make sure her door was still closed and her vitals were acceptable. I had just gone back to it when the vision passed before my eyes.

I looked around, I was in a garage or warehouse, the wall were dirty as was the floor, I could see only bits and pieces that were not blurry. I could hear voices behind me, musical, beautiful but cruel. I looked at my hands, they were lifting something to my face - a small lump of flesh, so tiny, so light. It squirmed in my grasp. Immediately I felt the immense horror of what I was about to do. But my arms were not my own, the blood was sweet and delicate, I could not stop but something so small would not take too long. I felt tears pouring down my cheeks. Tears I had not felt for nearly one hundred years. They felt so natural yet so out of place. The vision faded into blackness and the screaming began. I was at her side in seconds but it seemed to take hours. I stood not knowing quite what to do, the urge to shake her as I had the last time was strong. Instead I placed my cold hand on her face, "Bella," I said probably louder than necessary, 'wake up, please." Her eyes were open in an instant and the screaming was gone.

I moved toward her, my arms reaching out to hold her and she accepted. I drew her close to me, her head resting on my chest, the tears that fell from her eyes staining my dark shirt. I pressed my face into her hair inhaling her scent. My dead heart crying out for her own. She spoke softly, "I had the most horrible dream, Edward." I spoke gently to her, "I know, Bella. But that was not your fault. It's blood is not on your hands, love. I'm so sorry, I wish I could make it better, take this pain away from you."

My breath was hard but steady, hers broken with sobs. I stroked her hair gently. It was so long, so soft. We stayed like that, me holding her frail body until she could cry no more. After her sobbing had let up I pulled her away from me just enough to look into her beautiful eyes. They were red and puffy from crying, but so beautiful still.

**BPOV**

He pulled me gently back from his cold body, his searing honey-colored eyes searching my own as he spoke. "What do you say to a little field trip?" His ethereal face twisting beautifully into half grin, his eyes, still holing a measure of caution. I tried to force a smile as I nodded my head. He gently pulled the covers back, his hands delicately freeing me from the tangle of my blankets. He was reaching to pick me up when he seemed to think better of it. He backed up slightly. "I saw you walk last night. Can you? Not that I would mind carrying you; I would carry you anywhere, of course, you need only say the words."

I smiled more broadly, his sudden case of nerves mirrored how I always felt around him. "I think I can walk. My legs feel weak, but I'm sure I can make it." He smiled bashfully. "I'll be right beside you. If you get tired, say so."

I nodded and we slowly made our way to the first floor. He sat me on the bottom stair as he apologetically said, "I'm sorry, I've forgotten something. I'll just be a moment." and with that he shot up the stairs at vampire speed. It was the first time I had seen one of them move so quickly; I had nearly forgotten that they and James were one and the same creature, though their demeanor was entirely different. Edward and the others had just as much power and desire to take my life source as James did, but chose not to.

The thought humbled me, but I didn't have time to think beyond that; Edward was at my side almost immediately, his arm now cradled a folded two folded chenille blankets and in his hand he carried a small portable radio of some sort. He took my arm gently and lead me to the vast backyard, some of which I could see from my bedroom window. The full view of it stunned me as my eyes took in the expansive green lawn that faded into a field and finally into the forest. In the distance I could hear a river flowing. The birds chirping in the trees made the whole scene even more magical. It was late afternoon, thought the sun was still hours from setting. "Stay here" his voice gently commanded. I gratefully obeyed. He walked before me into the near middle of the yard and spread one of the blankets on the ground setting the musical diversion on it gently and pressing a button. Heavenly music floated to my ears and I was swept away with the beauty and the enchantment of the afternoon. He walked at a human pace over to me, the other blanket still draped over his arm. As he reached me he unfolded the blanket and draped it gently over my shoulders.

He smiled as he spoke, "Since you aren't wearing any shoes, I would beseech that you let me carry you to your oasis, my lady." he said formally. I couldn't contain my smile as I nodded my head, in one swift move he swept me up and cradled me in his strong, cool arms. Ever so gently he placed me on the blanket and sat beside me.

We sat like that for a long time, every now and then the sun would peak from behind one of the wispy clouds and his face and arms would sparkle like thousands of diamonds illuminated by the stars. His smile, his voice, they begged me to trust him, to accept him. And I did. I could not have refused him if I had wanted to. I could not have if every fiber of my being had screamed against it. I had known him only a day, but I loved him. It didn't make any sense to me at all. But I loved him more than I had ever loved anyone before in my life.

"What is this music?" I asked. He smiled. "Enya, this one is called 'Caribbean Blue', the sounds relax me, they are very therapeutic. She's a musical genius in my opinion."

I smiled. It was therapeutic. The song seemed to carry me on clouds to heaven and my own personal angel sat beside me, his unearthly beauty glistening in the rays of the setting sun.

I heard the door open, Alice had come home and was trading across the yard, she seemed to step in time to the ethereal music that surrounded us, like the movements of her feet and arms were producing it. " Well hello, sleepy head." she said pleasantly, her smile spanning her entire face as she spoke. I couldn't help but smile back. She let loose and began telling me about everything we would do and how she had seen things that were coming. I just smiled and nodded every now and then, it was really too much to take in all at once, and my mind kept drifting back to Edward, who, I had noticed, never took his eyes off me.

-Weeks passed. Edward became my tutor, attending psychiatrist and closest friend. I was glad he could not read my mind as he could every one else's; the thoughts I had ranging from my imagining his cold firm lips on mine to he and I romping in my bed in the early morning sunlight were mortifying enough without someone automatically hearing them. I tried to stop those thoughts as soon as they formed, but the blush would spread across my cheeks anyhow - thankfully he never questioned why. I realized that I was in love with him. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid.' That was my near constant mantra; how could such a heavenly creature ever return my affections?

I grew stronger and could go places on my own, though some of my former clumsiness seemed to shine through. Out of habit I would instantly flinch if I felt myself begin to trip, slip or stumble, but Edward was always very patient with me. Always there to catch me. Well, all but once.

I was showering in 'our' bathroom; I had had enough of the tub. It was very relaxing, but the shower reminded me of a waterfall and for a little while I could stand beneath it and lose myself in the rhythmic pounding of the water against the cold stone tiles. The only part of it that took any getting used to was the clear glass wall and door that allowed access to the enormous walk in shower. I felt so open and exposed the first week or so that I tried it, I would shower nearly at vampire speed just to make sure I was wrapped in my towel before anyone could mistakenly come in; door locks were not much use in a house full of vampires; one twist of the knob and the handles would come off completely with little notice. I first realized this point when Emmett and Rosalie were visiting and having a fight. Rose walked into Alice and Jaspers' room audibly slamming and locking the door, but Emmett just turned the knob and walked right on in. Alice later explained the slamming and locking the door on Rosalie's part was more for emphasis than functionality.

But after several weeks my level of comfort in 'our' bathroom shower had dramatically increased and I began spending more time relaxing under the rectangular waterfall showerhead. Under the stream of torrid water I could almost forget everything that had happened in the past eleven years. My mind and body merged and became immersed in color and feeling not unlike Jasper's 'serenity' mood. The warm sand colored marble that surrounded me gave a feeling of a tropical island or desert setting. And up until today I had managed the slick marble shower floor with no major incidents…but as I've learned, my luck doesn't hold up for very long.

I was just coming back to earth from my heavenly shower hour when it happened. Of course I should have thought better of it; Esme was out doing some shopping in Seattle for a client and Alice was in school. Usually I only showered, bathed or did anything that remotely entailed nudity while they were around the house, but stupid me had grown overly confident with my mad shower skills and I decided that I could chance it.

I reached to turn off the water and knocked the soap off the little dish - if you ask me, soap dishes should not be flat in the first place because soap is slippery! So I proceeded to chase the stuff around the shower floor on my hands and knees finally triumphing over the stupid, slippery little demon and successfully standing and replacing it in it's little dish.

One step was all it took over the soap covered surface and I was on the floor. I registered pain in my left knee, hip, elbow shoulder and the left side of my head. I'm sure had anyone been there to witness it, it would have been a spectacular spill, the kind you see only on funny home video programs and the internet.

The pain didn't seem too intense at first so I thought I would try to get to my towel ten feet away on the vanity, but as soon as I put pressure on any left hand appendages pain shot through my entire body like lightning. I heard a knock on the door. Edward. Oh no!

"Bella, you alright? I thought I heard a crash."

I struggled to regain my ability to stand, once, twice, three times, the last time the pain shot through even harder and I let out a moan. "Bella, I'm coming in." Edward said from behind the door. "NO!" I managed. "You can't. I'm…not decent." My mind raced, how the heck had I gotten into this one?

"Bella, wrap a towel around you and then I'll come in…are you alright?" "I'm….ok….I think. But I can't get to the towel, so you just have to wait."

I could swear I heard him chuckle from his place in the hall. "Why can't you get to your towel?"

I growled slightly at my own stupidity. "I'm hurt a bit…when I try to stand or even put pressure on my left leg it hurts too much. Maybe it will go away in a minute."

My left side throbbed with pain, but my mind was too panicked at my current situation to register it completely.

"I doubt it, Bella. Look, I'll look away, I swear I'll be a total gentleman about this. I'll hand you your towel and then check on your injury, ok?"

I cringed at the thought of Edward seeing me sprawled on the shower floor for any reason, but what choice did I have? I sighed, defeated. "Alright." I whined and I tried to cover myself as sufficiently as possible with my hands. The door creaked open slowly, Edward, true to his word kept his head turned, his eyes averted looking at the floor as he made his way over to my towel. Walking from the vanity to the shower door was a little more difficult; I was on the floor. Realizing this fact his eyes closed and he used his other senses to get to the shower door. He opened the door and tossed the towel in my direction. "Tell me when you're covered and I'll come in and assess your injuries." he said softly.

I did my best to wrap my towel around me as usual, but sprawled as I was, the job was shoddy to say the least, but my most private areas were no longer exposed to the air so I figured that this was the best I was going to accomplish in my current position. "Ok." I said, I could feel the blood rush to my face before he ever opened his eyes.

His eyes moved slowly, not sure, I suppose, that I could do a decent job of covering myself in the state I was in, and a look of concern mixed with amusement spread over his magnificent face. "How did you mange this one?" he asked, his voice kind and low.

I just sighed, I knew if I tried to explain right now the tears would not be detained. I must have looked truly pitiful because he questioned me no further but quietly stepped into the shower and knelt beside me. "Alright, you said your left leg?" I nodded as his hands moved smoothly from my ankle to my knee leaving cool trails over my warm wet skin. He stopped every few inches to gauge the stability of the bone with gentle pressure, checking for any obvious breaks. I winced as he reached the knee. He noted my reaction carefully turning my leg in his hand, some bruising was already beginning to appear. His hands moved on from my knee up my thigh gently pushing my towel further up onto my side to reach my hip. I blushed furiously, my heart pounded in my chest. "Bella, I am a doctor, technically. I realize this is a slightly embarrassing situation, but, please try to calm down. Your heartbeat, your rising blood pressure….it's making it very hard to concentrate." He said with a slight smirk. If only he knew my hammering pulse and subsequent flush were not from embarrassment…

"No brakes, you're lucky. I think you've torn some muscle tissue. It will be ok, you'll just have to take it easy. You have some swelling so it will have to be elevated. Let's get you to your bed and I'll look at your other injuries." He said, his eyes on mine as he slid his arm under my bare legs and pulled me to his chest in a cradle hold. He walked me to my room setting me carefully on the bed. "I suppose you should dress before we proceed. Can you…manage?" he asked nervously. I bit my bottom lip. "I can put on a sundress, but you'll have to hand it to me." "Of course." he said looking relieved.

**EPOV**

I handed her the first dress my hand came to rest on in her closet and walked outside her room shutting the door behind me. I would wait here until I heard her call. I also needed time to regain my composure. I shouldn't have allowed the thoughts that ran through my mind the moment I saw her sitting there on the shower floor, her hair dripping, her skin wet and glistening in the light, her flesh still hot with the heat of the water she'd been standing under, so soft and slick under my hands. The sound of her pounding heart and the smell of her fragrant blush certainly did not help to ease my arousal. There she was, naked, her towel barely covering her, and what was worse, I had to carry her. Gentleman or no, I had a very hard time reigning in my thoughts and physical reactions to her sensuous presence.

I breathed deeply, trying desperately to calm my nerves. Where was Jasper when you needed him?

After she finished dressing I went in and finished examining her elbow, shoulder and head. Her leg had sustained the worst of it and even that was not too serious. It would heal in two to three weeks time entirely and she would be back to regular activities.

The rest of the day I toted her around the house, whether to the kitchen for meals or the living room for a movie. I enjoyed feeling her in my arms much more than I should have. I was her protector, her mentor, her friend - not her lover. I had to continuously remind myself of this.

But the more time I spent around her, the more I longed to feel her face, her waist, her arms in my hands. I ached to press my lips to hers, my tongue longed to taste her mouth, her neck. The more I was around her the more torment I subjected myself to. I loved being in her presence, I craved it, it was necessary, like breathing to me. I took to spending my nights watching her sleep. Part of me felt bad because I didn't ask her permission, nor did she know I was there. I couldn't help myself; I was intoxicated with her. She was like a drug to me. I would have told her this very thing if it had not been for her past. The poor child had already had one obsessed vampire to essentially ruin her life, she did not need another.

We spent the rest of the day watching what had come to be her favorite film. I had to admit, it was pretty high on my list too, though I'd likely never admit it to Emmett or Jasper. She sat close beside me curled up mouthing the words of all the characters along with them. Every now and then I would join her in this silly endeavor. I watched her watch the movie. Her eyes shined, welling up with tears each and every time the love scenes would appear. Her heart would beat harder. She felt their love each time they proclaimed it, I was certain. As did I, wishing I could be as forthcoming about it as the characters on the screen did. One single tear escaped her eye as the final scene played out and the ending song began. I pressed the stop button on the remote, even though there was a little of the movie left; I knew she liked to stop it when the hero and heroine kissed as they rode off into the sunset. For her, that was the end of the story.

She looked at me, wiping the tear from her eye. "I think I'll read in bed for a while. Thanks for sitting with me; you don't have to, I know I watch this silly thing a lot." I smiled. "No, I think it's starting to grow on me." I said as I proceeded to pick her up and carry her to the room on the third floor directly across from mine. I set her in her bed and turned to go.

"Edward." she said softly behind me. "Yes?"

"Would you sit with me? I'm not really in the mood to read, now I think about it… I thought we could just talk a while. If you didn't have plans."

I smiled at my opportunity. "As you wish." A slow smile formed on her lips, her brow furrowed slightly. I decided then and there that this would be my answer to every request she made to me until she figured it out. It wouldn't take too long. After all, she heard it nearly every day on the television screen.

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**A/N: OK, review and I will get chapter 7 up asap! Hope you guys are enjoying this!**

**P.S. You get 10 points if you can guess the movie Edward and Bella watch often!  
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	8. Chapter 7 Whirlwind

**A/N: Wow, ok I can't BELIEVE the reviews I've been getting! First let me say THANK YOU all so much; you are very encouraging. With this being my first fan fiction ever I really thought it was going to be a total disaster! I'm so glad you are enjoying it!**

**The movie hinted at in the last chapter was..... The Princess Bride (I know I was kinda vague, sorry... I love that movie; it was my husband and my first date and we love it to this day!)**

**Without further adieu....chapter 7!**

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**BPOV**

We talked for until one in the morning and finally Edward gently exhorted me to try to sleep. Already Carlisle's pain killers were beginning to work; I felt only slightly sore when I put more pressure than necessary on my leg.

I laid there in the darkness, my eyes open and staring at the ceiling. It was times like this, when my days weren't filled with activity, furthering my education or some kind of interaction that it began to seep back into my mind.

Carlisle had theorized that I was 'blocking' - that meant the last eleven years I had endured such horrible treatment at the hand of my captors was being forced into the back of my mind as a defense mechanism. It wasn't like I couldn't remember things if I tried, I simply chose unconsciously not to.

But when the house was quiet, everyone trying to keep hushed tones so 'the human' could sleep, that my mind began to reveal what I had tried so hard to forget.

James' face flashed before me. His deep burgundy eyes. His cruel smile. I could see his hands running over my legs, up my thighs. He pushed his hand callously between my legs. He always knew his limits; "too rough and you crush the human; too gently and she'll think you care for her…" I could hear his voice even now.

The first time he had me I was thirteen. I had known what to expect to an extent; James and Victoria often 'played' with their victims before disposing of them. I'd seen James on top of many human females, though he was never as careful with them; they were, after all, about to die anyway. There was no need.

Many times after James had desecrated me the first time, he often forced his victims on me. I remember seeing the shame and apology in their eyes. I forgave them; it wasn't their fault.

I waited, hoping daily that the dawn that broke would be my last, that I could end the torturous games that James and Victoria played.

Victoria never bothered me much on her own; I was James' toy. He was adamant that I belonged to him. He never left me alone with anyone, victim or vampire, if I were alone it was on my own.

There were times I had tried to run. I never got very far and after James caught me, for days the games were worse, more violent. He was punishing me.

Somewhere in my thoughts I must have finally fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes I thought I saw someone sitting on the ottoman at the end of my bed. I gasped. No…he can't have found me here!

My breath was caught in my throat, my voice had left me. I began to shiver.

"Are you cold, darling?" came his cruel voice. I could not speak, I could not scream, tears began to run down my cheeks. James stood and walked toward me, his moves like that of a lion stalking it's prey. He walked around the foot of my bed coming ever near me. Somewhere inside myself I found my voice. I screamed as loud as I could. Why wasn't anyone coming for me? I screamed again. Where were the Cullens? Had James killed them? No! It couldn't be!

James was right next to me, his hands reached out to take hold of me, "It's dinner time, baby." he said, his hands gripping my shoulders. I screamed once more. I was shaking…but not out of my own fear…James was…shaking me?

"Bella! Wake up, Bella." Edwards velvety voice rang through my screams. I felt his cold stone arms enclose about my body, hugging me to his chest. I couldn't seem to catch my breath, my body coursed with tremors. "He…was….here…." I stuttered between breaths. Edward pulled me away from him just enough to look into my eyes, his arms still firm about my shoulders. "He will never lay a hand on you again as long as I exist. As long as any of us exist, Bella….you will be safe." His topaz eyes burned into my own. I knew he and the others would give their lives for me…but why? What was I to them? Why should I put them in danger?

"I care very much for you, Bella. You make me more…content….peaceful….happy than I've been in over seventy-five years. I could not try to live without you. You will not be harmed as long as I exist, do you understand?" I nodded my head. He _cared_ for me?

"I don't want to be alone tonight, Edward." I said, my voice somewhere between a whisper and a sob. "Will you stay… please?" He smiled at me, how I loved that crooked grin. "As you wish."

He lay next to me until I awoke to the sunlight streaming through my window. It was Saturday; no lessons today. Alice bounded into my room after breakfast, shooing Edward out until I was properly dressed. She chattered endlessly about what my day held. Once clothed and ready Edward reentered the room, leaning against my bedpost like a model out of a fashion magazine.

"I'm sorry Alice, but I'm afraid your plans may not go as well as expected today…" Edward began…Alice 'zoned out' for a moment. When she 'returned' her face was uncharacteristically dismayed. "Oh, Edward…today?" she moaned, but he knew she'd already conceded.

Edward glanced at me, not wanting me to be 'out of the loop' for longer than necessary. "Carlisle and I think you would benefit from a couple of counseling sessions today…one with him and another…with myself." he stated. His tone implied that this was not an issue up for debate. "With the intensity and frequency of your nightmares, we decided it might do you some good to try some regression therapy."

It couldn't hurt, I decided. It wasn't as if I could refuse, anyhow; the Cullens had been so very kind to me, I'd do anything in my power for them in return.

It wasn't so bad actually. Carlisle had a colleague come in and assist in a trial hypnosis. It worked but it only seemed to reveal what Edward was already privy to from my dreams.

The session with Edward didn't fear much better; I recalled what I could but there really didn't seem a good way for me to get any of the pent up emotions out - I really couldn't find it when I wanted to; the only thing I felt in my dreams was fear.

Two weeks later I woke up to a growling sound outside my window. Edward gauged my reaction and slid his arms around me pulling me toward him, nuzzling his face into my hair. He had spent every night in my room since my last nightmare…more recently he'd taken to laying on one particular side of my bed. It was comforting knowing he'd be here. I often begged him to bring a book or something with him to occupy himself while I slept. He consistently refused, asserting that watching my dreams was entertainment enough. I knew not being able to read my mind frustrated him, but I was glad that he could not. It was bad enough that he could see my dreams, I certainly did not want him aware of my conscious thoughts!

"What on earth?" I muttered about the horrid noise coming from outside. Edward quickly responded. "Alice's surprise for you. From all of us, really. With summer coming on, we thought it'd be a nice distraction for you."

I hopped out of bed and ran to my window looking toward the direction of the rumbling. In the back yard, about two-hundred yards from the back door a bulldozer and excavator sat tearing up the ground, digging a massive hole and depositing the dirt in an ever growing pile beside them. My brow furrowed as I turned back to face Edward, still lounging on my bed. My face must have expressed what I was thinking because without a word from me he launched into a small dissertation. "Not all of your dreams are bad ones; one in particular seems to be a memory. When you were on your way to California your thoughts consisted mainly of the hope of a swimming pool….Alice and I agreed that it might be time you got your wish….even if you can't use it year-round here as you could in a warmer climate." His face seemed somewhat apologetic for possibly intruding on a private memory that I might not have wanted to share. For once, however, Edward had interpreted wrong. I ran toward him as he sat up. I threw my arms around him in a great bear hug. "I…oh…thank you!" His laugh was even more beautiful than hearing him speak. "I'm glad you're pleased." I sat holding him for what seemed like a long time, but when I tried to release him he would not let me very far. I frowned slightly, his eyes were intense again…burning into my own. "I…" he began… but he never finished his thought, instead drawing his face closer, slowly, to mine. I could smell his sweet, wonderfully fragrant breath on my face. He gently pressed his lips to mine, their cold, marble-like hardness intoxicating me as I felt my body melt into his.

My eyes closed and I prepared myself to give in to the feeling totally, but all of a sudden I was jolted back. His hard, cold lips began moving harder against my own and I pulled away, trembling. I opened my eyes expecting to see James before me. What I saw was a very upset Edward. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that; it was completely out of line." I placed my hand gently over his lips. "No, Edward. It wasn't. I want it. I'm sorry, I just…it reminded me of…the past. It might take some getting used to is all." He sighed visibly but his countenance stay the same. "It's unprofessional." I couldn't hold back my laugh. His face puzzled in bewilderment. "Edward, even though you and Carlisle attend me when I need medical attention, I don't feel…so distant toward you." His expression remained, I could almost see the wheels in his mind trying desperately to turn but grinding against one another.

"I probably shouldn't say this, Edward. But I….think….that I love you." Suddenly I couldn't look at him. How stupid could I be? It was bad enough that I felt this way in my own mind, but I had to go and blurt it out!

A smile spread slowly across his face. His voice was low as a whisper. "I love you, Bella. So much more than I should."

I leaned forward to kiss him again, but this time I kept my eyes open slightly; it seemed to help a little.

He returned my kisses whole-heartedly, but noticeably more gently than the first time.

As luck would have it Alice burst through the half-open door to my room.

Before we could pull away from each other I heard her squeal. It was positively ear-piercing.

"Alice, please!" Edward moaned. "You could break glass with that voice, sometimes!" I stifled a giggle I knew vampire's hearing was hundreds of times better than humans'; I could only imagine what the shrill squeaking was doing to him.

Alice ignored him of course as she began jumping up and down. "Oh, I knew it! I knew it! YES!" She shouted, thrusting a fist triumphantly into the air.

"I just wish it would have been more planned so I could have seen it twice!"

Edward sighed, turning to me. "Why don't you get dressed? I believe Alice came in with intentions other than catching us…you'll have fun, I'm sure. I won't be here when you get back, though. Carlisle will attend you if you should need it; I need to hunt larger game than this area has to offer. I'll only be gone for two days. Will you be alright?"

My heart fell. He'd only ever gone off during times when I was sleeping or otherwise engaged with Carlisle or Esme. I'd noticed his absence, but not as much. Now I'm sure that their intent was to distract me from it. This would be two whole days with out him. I nodded dutifully. His smile was sad.

"Bella, I will miss you. You have no idea how much. I will race back here as quickly as I possibly can."

I nodded again. As he stroked my cheek with his thumb. Before he retreated from my room he left one small kiss on my lips. I had to breathe deeply to keep from crying.

Alice quickly assumed her endeavor, part of which was certainly a distraction for me, the other part, I'm sure she was relishing with delight.

I soon discovered her plan. It was my first shopping trip. Well, the first I could really remember. It was a new and adventurous experience. I'm not sure I enjoyed myself nearly as much as Alice seemed to enjoy herself, but still it was interesting. Partway through we stopped for my lunchtime and as I ate we fell easily into light conversation. I could tell Alice and I were going to become close.

"So how is your schooling coming along?" Edward told me he was very surprised at your ability to master things so quickly."

I smiled, thinking back on our lessons. "Edward is a good teacher. And I like learning. I've missed so much! Reading has been my greatest challenge, but I think I will be able to finally master it soon."

"You're obviously very intelligent. When does he think you will be able to go to school with us?" Alice probed lightly.

"He says in another year or two, possibly on my own. But with his help….well, he has this plan that I'm sure won't work…he wants to enroll me in the fall, keep me in his classes and use the lessons we learn there and homework to catch me up faster. I'm not sure it would work…but he says if Carlisle explains my situation to the school board and teachers and my need for normalcy due to the trauma, they should have no problem at least letting me complete my junior year. Edward said if it doesn't work out, he can tutor me through the remainder of my schooling and have me ready for college in three years. I think he's overly optimistic."

Alice grinned knowingly. "Bella, you're doing really well…and Edward has done some pretty impossible things before. Besides, what do you have to lose? You already read really well…your math skills are amazing…you really shouldn't be this far along with your education levels in the past. Had you not been in the situation you were put in with James and all, you'd probably have been a member of Mensa by now."

I blushed. It did seem I was catching up in my studies awfully quickly…but I didn't really feel smart. I changed the topic by asking how Rosalie and Emmett were doing.

Alice's face lit up. "Rosalie has found an awesome clothing line lately…usually she, like I, stick to our usual favorites, D&G, Versace, Gucci, Prada…you know. But she stumbled across a more affordable line that was just as hot! Well, of course we follow some of our favorite models after they've retired, but we never thought to check up on Kimora…she has a whole line called 'Baby Phat' that is really cute and Rose is just buying up everything she puts out!"

I found out that they were 'attending' Yale. She soon started on how beautiful New Haven was and how we should visit them some time. By the time lunch was over I felt I'd lived in Connecticut all my life.

We spent the rest of the day shopping for shoes to match the outfits we had accumulated during the earlier part of the day and by the time we arrived at the Cullen's home and put away all our 'glorious finds' as Alice called them, I was exhausted. Shopping with a vampire was definitely more like a sport than I had ever imagined.

I crawled into bed and sighed slightly at the realization that I would be alone tonight, but by the time my head hit the pillow I was gone.

I woke up the next morning with something hard and cold on my pillow. As I slowly opened my eyes I realized I was staring at a very pale hand. I tried desperately to focus more as I sat up. I let out a little gasp. "Edward…I thought you were hunting." I whispered.

He smiled as he looked up at me, "I couldn't force myself to stay away." His smile faded a tiny bit. "Besides, your dreams were driving me mad; I knew I couldn't do anything to help stop them from two hundred miles away so I drank everything I could hold as quickly as I could and headed back. I got here at about three this morning. Thankfully your nightmares had passed by then, but I was glad I hadn't lingered."

I heard a soft knock on the doorframe. It was Alice. "It's finished, Bella. And the weather today will be sunny and warm!"

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**A/N: OK, I'm hoping this chapter didn't throw you guys off too much; on another fan fic site I got a review from a lady who was really upset about Bella's situation being so young and all and she said she really hoped Bella would finally get her swimming pool...I hadn't really intended it but I thought it was a great idea! So this is for you Dazzledjen!**

**Please Review! Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 8 Falling

**A/N: Whoo...talk about last minute! This chapter was never intended as part of the story but both here and on another fan fic site I got comments that the story of BxE's love was moving kinda fast...ok, yeah, sorry about that; I guess I'm more action oriented and I plan for some pretty intense action in later chapters so I went back and cut into the mix and inserted this chapter which is PURE BxE FLUFF!!! - Just in case there isn't much during the action scenes!**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer, not I, owns everything Twilight. I also don't own the song 100 Years; it belongs to Five for Fighting.**

**Thx as ever to my betas, neither of whom have ever laid eyes on this chapter! LOL! (You guys know who you are)**

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BPOV

Alice announced the completion of the pool itself, but mentioned that I still couldn't see it officially until she and Esme finished the landscaping and design. My heart dropped a bit until Edward spoke up. His voice was enough to lift my spirits alone, but his words were even more exciting.

"Until the pool is complete might I suggest a distraction of my own?" He asked in his overly formal tone of voice.

I nodded; sometimes the phrases he used just felt like there wasn't any proper way of responding if you weren't brought up in the era he came from.

"I suggest we have a day out, just you and I." I smiled. "Sounds nice."

Alice shooed him from the room and dressed me in what she felt was appropriate for the day she foresaw; a light pink over shirt, white tank top and denim shorts and sandals. She quickly pulled my hair into a French braid. I met Edward in the hallway that connected our rooms on the top floor and he of course was ready and waiting. His dress was as casual as mine and it occurred to me that I had never seen him so relaxed looking. He was wearing faded blue jeans, a white t-shirt and tennis shoes. He smiled his beautifully crooked smile as he stood leaning against the wall at the top of the staircase. "Nicely done." He said to Alice who was gesturing for us to 'shoo' so she and Esme could put their plans into action.

We made it down the stairs with no accidents, thankfully, and climbed into his silver Volvo. I asked once where we were going, but the only response I got was his beautiful smile. We drove for what seemed like a long time with nothing but silence between us. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, and every now and then he stole glances at me sideways, though he never turned his head.

I was starting to get slightly uneasy with no inclination to where we were headed or even how much longer it would be before we got there.

Finally he pulled to a stop at a lookout point over a large cliff. He was out of the car and pulling my door open before I had fully registered that we had come to a complete stop.

He reached for my hand and pulled me gently out of my seat to stand beside him. As I looked out over the guard rail my breath caught in my throat.

"It's so beautiful." I whispered. He rested his chin on my head, "Yes it is, but it's shamed now that you're here. No beauty in the world could ever compare to yours, Bella."

I could feel the heat rising onto my face. I chuckled soundlessly at his compliment. I believe he had quite the talent to severely overstate things.

I would have been content to stand there for the rest of the day, but he seemed to be in more of a hurry.

Just then the sun peeked out from a wispy cloud and his skin shone like thousands of tiny mirrors. He grabbed my hand leading me toward the guard rail. "Climb onto my back, Bella and hold tight." He said. At that moment I was washed with fear; the only way around the guard rail was straight down. "What?" I asked but it was too late; he had pulled me onto his back through no effort of my own, and was proceeding to climb over the rail. My heart leaped into my throat. Together we went over and down, his hands gripping parts of the rock I could barely see much less could have grabbed myself. "It might help if you don't look down, love." He said as we began our decent. Had he not spoken those words it might never have occurred to me to look below us, but as if by instinct I immediately looked down to my right and wished just as quickly that I wouldn't have.

I gasped audibly. I could feel him laugh beneath my arms, now clutching to his broad shoulders for dear life. "I told you not to." He laughed. My face reddened, more out of indignation than embarrassment this time, but I let it drop.

We descended rather quickly and by the time his feet touched the ground my arms ached only slightly with the force I had been exerting on them. I moved to get off his back but he reached back gripping my thigh, "Not just yet, we don't have much farther to go, but we'll get there quicker if I run. Stay put and hang on." He breathed back at me, the scent of his breath wafting onto my face. I was transfixed. By the time I was beginning to recover from his intoxicating scent I realized that the trees were passing us in an unnaturally fast pattern. We were traveling as fast as if we were in a car. My breath caught again. "Look out!" I shouted as the tree that was coming right at us quickly disappeared. I had seen vampires run before, but I had never had the experience of doing so with one of them. This was terrifying!

I closed my eyes, but soon found that that technique made me dizzy so I settled somewhere in-between with my eyes half open but focused intently on the threads of Edward's white cotton t-shirt. I didn't notice that we had stopped until Edward tugged gently on my knees. "You can release your death grip now." He joked.

My mind snapped back to the present. I had fallen into just feeling my body against his…the thin t-shirts we were wearing allowed transmission of both my body heat and his cold skin to be quite apparent.

I silently cursed Alice for the selection of my outfit; of course she had seen this coming…I wondered what else she had seen.

I moved to slide down his back and he pulled me around to him at the same time. I slid around him lithely, his jeans rubbing my bare legs roughly. He smiled as he looked deeply into my eyes. "Turn around." He commanded and I did as I was told. I gasped for the fourth time in the past half hour at the sight that lay its wondrous beauty before me.

We were surrounded by green of every shade that could be imagined. It was like a rainforest; there was a small stream flowing through the greenness, babbling softly as it went along.

"I was here last night while hunting and it reminded me of you. I thought I'd show it to you." He whispered into my ear, his hands slid around my waist gently as I drank in my surroundings. The forest around us was like the stuff fairytales were made from; any moment now I expected to see a sprite or fairy flit past us.*

"Do you like it?" he whispered again. "It's gorgeous." I said my own voice barely above a whisper. "No,' he said, 'not in comparison to you. But still it's nice. It's called Ennis Creek."

He released me and backed himself against a tree; he took off his shoes and rolled the legs of his jeans up to his knees. He looked up at me. "Do you want to wade?" he asked through his crooked smile. I nodded and took my sandals off laying them beside his shoes. Edward took my hand; I still felt an electric shock run through my veins whenever we touched, but it had happened so often lately I was beginning not to take notice.

We stepped into the water; it was icy even for a summer's day. The smooth rocks beneath my feet were slick with algae and other watery plants. At its deepest point, where we were at anyway, it came only to my knees. I was surprised at how invigorating wading in the cold water was. It was exhilarating.

We walked hand in hand like that for a while, kicking the river stones on the bottom around and here and there. The sunlight would break through the canopy every now and then and cause Edward's arms and face to glitter like diamonds. When we had reached the center of the stream opposite the two banks Edward pulled me close to him, I stood facing him, chest to chest as his cold hands started on my face and moved downward, leaving trails of icy heat on my neck, shoulders and bear arms, my pink over-shirt long since cast to the banks near our shoes. I shivered, not with the cold from his skin, but with delight. His eyes held my gaze, the color of warm, clear amber smoldering into mine burning into the depths of my soul.

"Breathe, Bella." He whispered, only then did I realize that I had stopped. I let the sweet fragrance that was his unique scent fill my lungs. I wanted nothing else to exist in this moment but him and me. His hands trailed back up to my shoulders pushing my hair away toward my back. Edward leaned in closer. "May I?" He asked gently…I wasn't sure exactly what it was he was asking permission for, but at this point I really didn't care. He was welcome to try anything he dared. I nodded, dazzled by his very presence.

He leaned in closer, his lips barely grazing my own. I leaned in to kiss him back, I remembered to keep my eyes open this time however and my life felt complete.

As I pulled away when it ended I took one step backward too many. That was all it took. The slick creek bed betrayed me and I was on my butt with water up to my shoulders. Cold water.

I cursed Alice again as I grabbed Edwards' hand and he pulled me back up to him; why hadn't she foreseen to buy me any white bras? Edward tried hard to hold in his laughter at the whole situation, but I could see it was a struggle for him.

He walked quickly to the bank and grabbed my over shirt, handing it to me, his eyes averted to the water beneath us. I took it gratefully, pulling it on over my wet tank top.

We walked back over to the bank and put our shoes back on; the spell of the forest creek broken for now. He leaned down to kiss me lightly on the forehead before pulling me onto his back for the return trip. This time I closed my eyes on the ascent up the cliff side.

Once back in the Volvo he turned the radio on. There was a CD in the player and it played one of the prettiest songs I had never heard; I listened to the lyrics, it was happy but sad; the man singing talked about himself at different ages and what was happening to him at the time, ending every verse with the sentiment that he only has a hundred years to live. I found tears falling down my cheeks at the songs' end. I looked over at Edward, who I hadn't realized was staring at me. He didn't look really worried, only concerned. I smiled through my tears, "Sorry, the song was so moving; I didn't realize I was crying until just now." I said.

"You've been crying since the end of the first verse." He replied. "I won't play it anymore." He said decisively as he took the CD out of the player and stored it in the overhead CD case. "No, Edward. I like it; I wouldn't even mind hearing it again." I said quickly. He looked at me as if I had just told him I was hungry and wanted to eat worms. "But it made you upset; why on earth would you want to hear something that upsets you?" he asked incredulously. I smiled again. "I don't know; it's bittersweet…not upsetting, just sobering I guess. I know that as humans we only get so long and then it's over. The song just speaks of the beauty of it, life and death, but mostly everything in between. It's beautiful."

He just stared at me, pondering what I had said. "Hmm." He muttered. Obviously he needed more time to assess what I'd said, so for now he let it drop.

We pulled up to the house and again he was at my door before I could unbuckle my seatbelt. We walked into the house but it seemed to be empty. I went upstairs to change my clothes and decided to put on my most comfortable clothes – on a whim that I might one day want to work-out or visit a gym, Alice had purchased me some gray Adidas sweat pants and a black Nike racer-back tank. The top was tighter than I would have chosen for myself, but it was one of the few shirts I owned that I could go sans bra when I wanted, so Nike tank it was.

I decided bare feet were the safest thing I could go for in foot wear and after dumping my wet clothes in the bathroom hamper I headed back down to the kitchen.

I bypassed the living room entirely and was startled when I looked up and saw Edward leaning against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed over his well defined chest, he was still wearing the white t-shirt and jeans from earlier, the crooked grin back in its rightful place on his beautiful lips.

"I might not get hungry, but I can usually hear your stomach growling before you can." He said, assessing the wondering look on my face. _Of course_, I thought, _vampire hearing_. I walked to the freezer and pulled out a one-dish microwave meal, popped it in the microwave and turned the dial. As I looked up at him I realized his smile was gone. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Are you afraid to die?" he asked me, his face very serious.

I was speechless. Where had this question come from? "I …don't know." I said as honestly as I could; honestly I really hadn't given it much thought since I had realized I was safe from James.

"How can you not know, Bella; either you are or you aren't."

I froze; was this it? Was he about to change me right here, right now? Did it depend on my answer, or was this merely the best 'heads-up' he could give me?

"I wasn't before, with James; I welcomed it." I stammered. My heart hammered in my chest, I know he could hear it, but right now he paid no attention; that further confirmed to my mind that this was because he knew that in moments it would no longer matter. I felt more like prey in that moment than I had since the last day I saw James. My mind reeled. Did I want this? Was Edward really going to….no, he couldn't; he would ask me…wouldn't he?

"And now?" he asked, his eyes were hard and calculating. "Now….I guess I didn't know how much there was to live for." There, that was a safe answer, neither a 'yes' or a 'no'- hopefully he wouldn't know that I was trying to skirt the issue entirely.

"Bella, why is your heart beating so fast? Is everything alright?" I smiled as best I could; I hoped he couldn't sense the sudden fear that whelmed up inside me.

"I just wondered why you were asking, is all." I muttered, willing my voice to stay even.

He looked confused; as if my answer didn't match my reactions; they didn't, but there was no way I was going to admit it that easily.

"I was thinking about the song earlier, how you said that it made you think of the beauty of life and death; most humans see the beauty in life, but not in death, when you said you did, it made me wonder…if you were…contemplating it…in any way." He stuttered; Edward never stuttered. "What? No! You mean suicide? No, of course not!" I answered, relieved. His face seemed to relax. His smile even returned, though not to its full glory.

I retrieved my microwave meal and headed toward the living room. Edward might not be able to read my mind, but he certainly knew me well enough; he popped in the DVD we had watched so very often. I smiled.

He came and stood in front of me. "Would you like some company my lady?" he asked formally, his smile now glowing on his exquisite face. "If you please, sir." He smiled even wider as he sat down beside me in one graceful move. I heard him whisper as he snuggled next to me slightly, "As you wish."

I looked over at him; his golden eyes were burning into mine again.

"I love you too." I said softly.

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**A/N: I know you guys are wondering about the turning thing..."Will Bella become a vampire?" - It WILL be adressed in the next few chapters bit by bit. Never fear.**

**Thanks for reading! Please drop me a review!**

*** Go to my profile if you want to see a photo of Ennis Creek...it's beautiful!  
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	10. Chapter 9 Revelations

**A/N: OK, here it is...the original Chapter 8 (Now Chapter 9) - Some fluff, hopefully likable! **

**Note: The chapters *might* start coming a little slower, hopefully at least once a week, but now that school has started back and I'm taking English Comp and Rhet. and the professor says it is writing intensive, so I might be too pooped to type afterward...but fear not!: I will not forget this story; it's my favorite to write so far!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination; all characters, etc. belong to Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer!**

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**BPOV**

One month from the great shopping day I was lying in my bed day dreaming about Edward. He had left my room already to run a few 'errands' - his explanation had puzzled me; he had never gone out to run errands before. But I accepted that perhaps this was a good sign. He was comfortable enough with my recovery that he felt safe leaving for a little while to do mundane things.

I ate breakfast as quickly as I could and went up to my room where Alice was waiting on me.

"I bought this for you yesterday while I was out." She said holding up a bag from one of the many boutiques we had visited on our trip.

"Alice…you shouldn't have, really…" I started; she'd bought so many things as it was. I knew it was just her way of trying to integrate me into the family, but I still felt she was really doing too much.

"Well are you going to open it?" she exclaimed, hopping up and down on her toes.

I walked over to her taking the bag and peering inside.

I pulled out the item because I simply couldn't identify the mass of threads while they were in the bag. I dropped the bag on my bed as I turned the item that I desperately hoped was not an article of clothing over in my hands.

"Um, Alice…what is it?" I asked quietly, partially from embarrassment for not knowing what I had been gifted, secondly because I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know the answer.

Her laughter sounded like the tinkling of little silver bells. "It's a bathing suit, Bella."

I looked down at the teal green mass of shredded spandex.

"It looks…broken." I stuttered. More tinkling bells came from the space beside me. "Besides, the pool isn't…." I looked up quickly, hoping this meant what I thought it meant. Alice was bobbing her head excitedly up and down. "It's finished, Bella! And today's weather is sunny and very warm!"

Was it June already?

I couldn't wait; hurriedly I tried to figure out my bathing suit, but soon gave up. "Alice, I'm afraid I'm going to need some help with this."

"It's one of Victoria's Secret Very Sexy line swimsuits*!" She explained. "I got you a one piece because I thought it might make you more comfortable around the boys!" She said as she helped me into my contraption. She brushed out my hair and pulled me over to the full length mirror that was next to my closet. Come to think of it I'd never used the thing before now.

I gasped at the sight before me. "One piece? Alice this barely covers me at all! How in the world did you think this would make me feel more comfortable!?" I exclaimed. I gazed in the mirror. The teal green accentuated my pale skin, but it certainly showed off quite a good bit of it! The neckline plunged, but it did help accentuate that particular area. The middle of it converged into a single piece that would have ended and made it into a bikini but for a gold ring that attached it to a low riding bottom piece. I have to admit it was a flattering cut, but it was more mortifying than flattering in my eyes.

"Oh, come on and let's go swimming…you'll feel much better when you see mine and Esme's suits; yours has the most fabric!" Alice said pulling me toward the door and down to her room. She disappeared into her bathroom and came out just as quickly. Alice's suit was a black very tiny bandeau bikini * studded with little jewels, the darkness of it accentuated her pale skin. I was certainly glad she had not chosen a similar one for me. We headed down to the kitchen where Esme was waiting. Her suit* was also black and similar in fashion to my own, but Alice was right…mine definitely had the most fabric!

"Where are the… guys?" I asked, not really directing my question at anyone in particular.

Alice smiled deviously. Esme smiled as well before answering me. "Well we usually save this tradition for the beach or the lake, but now that we have a pool, we decided that today would be quite fitting for the big reveal." My puzzled look spurred her to refine her answer to one such as me…an outsider.

"Every year we girls get new bathing suits…often more than one but we choose our most dazzling one of the season and make the guys wait to see it on us. They are out at the pool and waiting; they often get very excited about this part." she explained.

"Well,' Alice said, 'Except Edward, of course. But I think this year he will finally understand what Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper have been ranting about all these years." she said to me. "We began this tradition in 1928, so we're coming up on an anniversary soon; those years we have to be especially daring!"

My eyes widened…what on earth could be more daring than the tiny loin cloths we were wearing right now? Wait…maybe I didn't want to know.

Esme brought me out of my terror-filled reverie. "Ok, let's go girls..." Alice grabbed my hand; she was going to force me out there against my will if necessary. We walked out the back door, the men folk had their backs turned, but I could see that their stance had stiffened a bit; vampire hearing was very acute indeed. "I just wish Rose and Emmett were here." Alice said beside me as we walked. They were vacationing on the Galapagos Islands for summer break.

As we neared the boys I prepared to cringe as they turned around. When we were about fifty feet from the pool's edge where they were standing, glistening in the sunlight watching the cool blue water, Alice pulled me to a stop. Esme stopped on the other side of me. No one said a word, but the males knew when we stopped walking that it must be their cue to turn around. My stomach flopped inside me. I wasn't sure I was ready for Edward to see me in something so….Alice.

**EPOV**

I'm not sure what I expected to see when I turned around to face them, but it certainly was not what I did see. Esme and Alice were shining like the stars in their new bathing suits, the sunlight glistening off their vampire skins, but other than the gleam of their jewel-like skin I barely noticed that they were present. Between them was the most exquisite goddess I had ever had the fortune to behold. Her ivory skin, while not sparkling like a diamond as the two vampires beside her, was even more stunning; her skin absolutely glowed in the sunlight seeming to have a luminescence all its own. Her whole body reminded me of the moon, reflecting the light of the sun in a soft pearlescent glow. Her long brown hair glistened while the sun picked out strands of red and brought out a shine that even the most desired supermodel would envy. Her large chocolate brown eyes were deep and wide, the white around the beautiful brown orbs only enhanced the saturation of the color of them. Her pale lips, soft and light as the palest pink petals, pouted, calling me to them. But I could not move; her body…where do I begin? I feared for her in that moment; I knew any minute Aphrodite herself would descend from the heavens to murder this human, her only rival. Gone was the frailness of her mal-nutritioned frame. She was slender and lithe as a young willow, but much, much more beautiful. I could not imagine a creature, human or vampire, more beautiful than the vision that stood before me in that moment.

I felt a cold hand on my jaw pushing it shut. It was Jasper, I glanced at him, his own mouth open slightly, but not at the sight of his own wife; he was staring at Bella. I let out a growl so low only he and Carlisle would be able to hear it. I knew he was not lusting after Bella in that way, but the sight of her did cause a physical reaction that none of us expected, but all of us immediately acquired. I could hear the involuntary thoughts in his unguarded mind…"_I never thought I'd ever be physically attracted to a human…but…HOT_!"

At the sound of my growl he immediately regained his composure.

Carlisle's mind was much too practiced at guarding his thoughts from me all the time, but I was sure he felt nothing for Bella but fatherly pride…at least that's what I was going to choose to believe.

I found my feet and began to move toward her…Esme and Alice's thoughts were running wild but it was as if they were insignificant background music. "You look magnificent." I stated, my voice caught in my throat on the last word. She smiled bashfully as Alice proceeded to push me slightly to the right.

"Not to interrupt your lust-fest, but we did come out here for a reason other than to tantalize your eyes." She said the laughter in her voice unable to hide itself. Alice knew when she had done a good job of rendering me nearly speechless, even if she had seen it coming.

"I think since the whole reason we even have this awesome new pool is because of Bella, she should be the first to get in…and the fact that it is technically hers is also a good reason." Alice said.

I nodded dumbly as I took her hand leading her toward the steps. The pool truly was an incredible construction; Alice and Esme had really outdone themselves this time; the pool didn't really look like a pool at all. It was more of a man-made lagoon for lack of a better term.

It was integrated beautifully into Esme's garden and looked like it had always been there. There were no steps at all, it sloped down into the water from the side closest to the back of the house. It was made from the stone and rock taken from the mountainsides near the house; the contractors had actually excavated rock from cliffs and quarries within a ten mile radius to get the most natural feel possible. The borders were edged in the same type of rock in a very natural pattern. There were two trees that provided shade for one side of the irregularly shaped water structure. Two extremely large willows, some of their branches dipping into the water giving a sort of curtained effect to that side. On the farthest side was a small waterfall-like structure made from different sized flattened boulders with the water pouring over them in beautiful natural patterns. Esme's garden surrounded the entire pool to its very edges on all sides except for the side that provided entrance. The first time I leaned over to peer into the clear water I half expected to see fish and other forms of marine life swimming around. There were lights around in the garden, but none in the actual water to give it a more natural feel at night.

I watched Bella's expression as she took it all in as did Esme and Alice. Bella remained silent for so long Esme decided to pipe up, "Bella, we hope you like it but if you don't, dear, we'll be happy to change it to suit your tastes." Bella turned to face Esme with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Esme, no…it's just, I've never seen anything so incredible in my life. I've never seen a swimming pool that looked so enchanting! I half expect to see little fairies and water nymphs all around it!" She exclaimed, the tears unable to be held back any longer flowed silently from her beautiful eyes.

"Thank you, Alice, Esme, everyone! It's so much more than I ever could have imagined!" It made my heart swell to see her so happy. I knew it was not the pool that held her enchantment and awe, but the people who went out of their way to create it for her.

I took her hand again and led her slowly into the warm water. The pool was heated year round and I had suspicions that Alice and Esme were already making plans to convert it into a hot spring fed source for winter-time swimming.

Bella stepped tentatively into the pool. Letting go of my hand as she waded further in. When she reached the level that covered her waistline she turned to face us. "I don't have to swim alone, I hope." Her smile absolutely radiant.

Alice joined her at vampire speed…the rest of us went at a more human pace. Much fun was had, Alice, Jasper, Esme and Carlisle played water games like Marco Polo and Chicken fight. Bella and I were content to just swim around and watch or talk quietly beneath the willow curtain. After a while the others left and we were alone. We continued our talking; every now and then we would joke around and splash a little water playfully at each other. I was surprised that Bella could indeed swim. She explained that her mother had taken her to lessons ever summer since she was two in Port Angeles when she was little. I suppose it's like riding a bike; you never forget how.

After several hours Bella lifted her hand, examining it as if it were the first time she'd seen it. She laughed. "I'd forgotten that this is what happens after staying in water too long." She turned her palm to me and showed me her waterlogged skin. I chuckled lightly. "I guess this is what I'll look like when I get old." she said. At that moment if my heart had been beating it would have stopped. I'd come to think of her as one of us in the past months. I had always known she was human, but the fact that she would one day grow old and die had not really registered to me until she made the comment about aging. My angel, my goddess would soon surpass me in age (well physical characteristics anyway) and die. Even without James' help, she would die and I would once again be alone. Not just go back to how I was before, but having known what it was like to have a companion, to laugh with and love. Having loved, but ultimately lost it. In that moment my heart began a war with my brain. My heart wanted to change her, to keep her by my side always, but my brain told me it was a fool's plan; why should I doom this innocent creature to an eternity of walking the earth lusting for the blood of what used to be your own kind? The urge to kill always on your mind, the burn in your throat quenched only by the life blood of another living creature.

No. I couldn't allow that. Not to this innocent, pure, delicate being before me. She was too close to an angel; I could not damn her to the life of a devil. A monster.

But that meant I would lose her in a few short years. My dead heart ached as if she were dying already. She was dying already. Every beat of her heart was rushing her short life headlong into the grave. Each beat was numbered and drew her closer to deaths door. How could I allow such a perfect creature to die? The one creature in this world who actually loved me, a beast, beyond any reason.

I leaned in to kiss her, surprising her surely, but I could not stand one more minute of not holding her in my arms. My minutes with her were numbered, and I would not waste a single one of them.

At first it was bliss, her warm soft lips molding around my own, but her body went rigid, she gasped for breath as she tried to push me away, her heart hammered in her chest. Her mind opened up revealing what she saw. Her eyes did not see me, but James. I heard her scream in her mind and as quickly as it had opened it was gone. She fainted clean away into my arms, her head falling under the water.

I pulled her up immediately and carried her into the house. "Carlisle!" I bellowed. I knew I need not speak so loudly but I didn't care, I had caused this. My carelessness had once again hurt the one person who I loved more than my own existence.

Carlisle came running at vampire speed down the stairs. "What's wrong Edward?" he said half expecting it to be about Bella.

"I don't know, I just kissed her…I didn't mean to surprise her, but it did. Her mind opened up for a moment and I was able to see what she was seeing for a moment. She thought I was James, she fainted."

I knew my words sounded like ravings of a madman, but I was mad. Mad with worry, mad at myself. How could I be so stupid? She trusted me above all the others and for the second time I had caused her to regress out of my own selfish and thoughtless actions.

Carlisle evaluated her and assured me she would likely soon wake. I handed her to Alice to take her to her room to change her into some warm clothes as I went to do the same. When I had finished I went to her room. Alice had her changed and lying on her bed looking as if she were sleeping. She looked so peaceful, but I knew better. She wasn't dreaming; she wasn't asleep, her mind had shut down temporarily to deal with what she thought she saw. The shock sent her brain into panic mode. This was all my fault.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please, please review...just let me know if it still has your attention...**

_*** To see Bella's swim suit as well as Alice and Esme's, please go see the links on my profile!**_


	11. Chapter 10 Misconceptions

**A/N: OK, so I really didn't want to post this SO quickly but I'm really axious to get this story going! Warning: This is a chapter full of angst! But fear not, eventually this will get better...well, at least I think so.**

**Thanks you to all my faithful readers! I love love love hearing from you, seeing that you have added me to you're alerts and favorite stories! Honestly when I started this fic I really had NO expectations that I would have ANY one who would want to read it! Nope, I expected NO ONE! But I now have over 100 subscribers! YAY! Thanks! **

**Thanks to my betas: Eyeliner Vampire and WWStewart....I love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything but my twisted little mind....well, ever since Twilight I guess she owns that too now!  
**

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**BPOV**

Months passed since the first day in the pool. June, July, August…they all went so very quickly. Edward learned to be more careful with his affections, but I could tell how frustrating everything was for him. He had to be so very careful with me as a human as it was; it only added to his torment to have to be mentally and emotionally as rigid. It was no way for any person to have to live. What was love if it couldn't be spontaneous or surprising? He started to make physical contact less and less, I knew it had nothing to do with his feelings for me; he felt he had to treat me like fine crystal; for looks only. It hurt me to have to watch him suffer, but I could never let on how it hurt me to have him pull away like that.

My schooling had improved so well that Carlisle had me enrolled to begin school when it started day after tomorrow. Of course I was nervous, but everyone assured me that I would be fine and the school knew of my previous condition. Everyone was very supportive.

As I packed my new messenger bag with supplies and other necessities that Alice assured me were absolutely necessary, I let my mind wander to thoughts of my mother and Charlie. How I wish they could be here. I wondered what it would be like for Renee to send me off to my first day in high school. I tried to remember her but the image was always blurry…incomplete.

The day dawned cloudy, rainy and downright depressing. Of course I put on a happy face for everyone else, and if Jasper felt my ambivalence he didn't let on. Alice and Jasper climbed into the back seat of Edward's Volvo, and I assumed the front seat passenger side. It was not my first ride into Forks, but I wasn't a fan of going into town much. Carlisle and Esme took me with them on various errands; they thought it would help the façade they upheld about adopting troubled teens if the townsfolk saw me, the newest addition to the family, before the first day of school. Maybe seeing a non-golden-eyed, non-stunningly beautiful teenager would help put any wandering minds to rest.

Of course I was only too happy to help; the Cullens had done so much for me and I genuinely appreciated every bit of it. It was hard to think of myself as a part of their family; apart from their beauty and obvious inhumanity there was something else…I just felt so weak around them…I was broken, damaged. I loved Edward dearly, but I still couldn't see how he could love me. He knew about my past, how could he? Perhaps it's was merely a passing fascination; Alice assured me they did not regularly swoop down and save fledgling humans like superheroes; I was their first; well the first that was not turned into a vampire that is.

That thought in itself nagged me constantly. Was that their intention for me in the long run? Was I meant to fully join their 'family' one day? Was the choice mine to make or had it been decided for me? I trusted Carlisle and his beautiful family implicitly, but I had yet to gather the courage to ask any one of them these questions about my future; I supposed I didn't want to seem ungrateful. I also wasn't sure if I was ready to acknowledge that this might be a possibility. Yes, I loved Edward with all my heart and wanted to stay by his side for eternity. But I'd also lived around vampires my whole life, is that really what I wanted to become? Edward and his family were different, that much was plain, but was the choice they made a part of their personalities before they were turned? Was it something they had total control over? Edward had told me that Carlisle and his family did not consider vampires who lived traditionally to be evil or even immoral, simply different. There were just too many questions I wasn't ready to hear the answers to just yet. So I did as any grateful child would do and tried not to disappoint them in my immensely faulty human state.

We pulled up in the parking lot thirty minutes before our first class was scheduled to begin. Alice and Jasper exited first and walked up toward the office. Carlisle had ensured that Edward and I had all the same classes together and that the teachers were instructed on my past and that we were to be seated together at all times. That made me more comfortable, but the butterflies still seemed to assault my stomach as I peered through the windshield up at the huge structure looming before me.

Edward thought it would be best if we didn't advertise our mutual feelings for each other at first in hopes that that would make it easier for me to make other friends. He explained that the children at most of the schools they attended over the years seemed to be somewhat intimidated by the Cullen clan.

Besides our sitting together in classes and at lunch he told me he would stay within sight or earshot of me, but would otherwise generally leave me be to the other students' eyes.

Our first class was History. As I walked in I would have been more comfortable sitting at the very back of the class and I headed this direction instinctively, but Edward grabbed my elbow gently. "That's no way to make new friends, holing up in a dark corner in the back of the classroom; you'll get no more than the wide eyed stares and less-than-discreet whispers that the rest of us do." He said chidingly, but sympathetically. I knew he had my best interest at heart, but I really hated being stared at.

Several of the students glanced my way but few of them really stared as Edward and I took seats in the dead center of the room.

The class went smoothly and as promised, Edward walked several steps either in front of or behind me, pretending to pay no attention.

I felt uncomfortable receiving all the stares that day, but the Alice and Edward assured me that it would pass; the people of Forks were not used to getting fresh students very often.

The next day the stares were less, and a few people even tried to make polite conversation when I was out of the human hearing range from the Cullens. One girl walked up to me right after gym class, my last of the day, and introduced herself as Lauren. "So you live with the Cullens, huh?" I looked up at her sheepishly. "Yeah." I replied softly. "You don't look like them,' she said, 'I thought they only adopted aspiring models or athletes or something." That caught me off guard. I looked her over once more, discreetly.

She was the perfect prototype of the American high school cheerleader. Perfect blond hair, bright blue eyes, rosy, perfectly tanned complexion, unnaturally straight, white teeth. Pure perfection, not a hair out of place. The only person I could think of comparing her to was Rosalie, but that was unfair; Rosalie had the beauty of the undead, something Lauren could never aspire to. "Um, yeah, well…I think they're trying to branch out, kind of an extreme makeover type thing." I laughed weakly at my own joke. Lauren smirked. "Well you have a sense of humor, at least." She said.

Something in my gut told me that this girl was not being as friendly as she was trying to seem. Her words seemed biting, but I tried to ignore it; Edward wanted me to make friends and he hadn't set any specifications on whom. So far this girl was the only one that even spoke two words to me so I was hanging on with everything I could.

"It helps when you take someone like me and put them in a house full of beautiful people, I guess." I agreed. Why did I feel so awkward agreeing with her? I chalked it up to my social inadequacy.

"So, is it all true?" She asked; her thin veneer of polite conversation fading. "Is what true?" I asked. I had a bad feeling about this, but I was stuck now. "About the Cullens?" My puzzled look spurred her on. "The 'together' thing – you know one big, happy family…"she bumped my elbow twice with her own. "Um, I'm not sure I know what you're getting at…" I said.

Lauren rolled her eyes and sighed. I could tell this conversation was not going as easily as she'd hoped. "That they're all…together together. Does anyone share?"

"They share everything. Look at what they've done for me and I'm nobody." Lauren laughed and passed her hand over her head making a whooshing noise. Her smile widened. "So you would say they've all…_done you good_?" I nodded. "Yeah, definitely." I agreed. She smiled more, leaning in closer to me.

"So you're not a virgin?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. How did she know? I knew the school and teachers had been informed of my past, but I didn't expect the students to know so much. "No, I'm not actually. Does it matter?" I asked warily. "Oh, no, not at all." She smiled sweetly at me. Boy, did this girl have a weird way of communicating. I had heard Jasper and Edward lament conversations with human teenagers, but I'd had no idea how strange it could really be.

At that moment Edward appeared by my side, grabbing my arm gently. "Are you ready, Bella?" he asked softly, he glared at Lauren as he was pulling me away toward the door.

Once in the car, I buckled up and sat quietly waiting on Jasper and Alice; their last classes let out ten minutes later than our gym did. Edward turned to me. "You don't have to answer questions you feel uncomfortable with you know…Lauren Mallory can be…callous."

He said, his tone indicating that he had heard every word of our conversation. I nodded my understanding. "She's kind of a gossip, you know; be careful what you say, alright?" He continued; his eyes on mine. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked; the last thing I wanted to do was displease Edward, or any of the Cullens, in any way.

He smiled gently, "No, you didn't. I just don't want her to try and manipulate you is all." I nodded again, "Oh."

At that moment Alice and Jasper slid gracefully into the back seat and Edward pulled out of the parking lot at lightning speed. I wondered if anyone noticed or cared, but upon looking back I realized the parking lot was actually empty.

The next day was Saturday, so there was no school. Edward helped me on my homework, which turned out to be easier than I expected. I hoped they weren't watering it down for me; I wanted to prove myself to my teachers…to everyone.

On Monday when we got to school, I noticed the stares that had died down on my second day had resurfaced, if possible, even more so than on my first day.

The girls glared at me, the guys had an odd look in their eyes. That look looked familiar, and it worried me.

One guy who I knew of as Mike flanked me most of the day. After gym class I lingered in the girl's locker room hoping to dissuade him from further following me. As I was grabbing my bag from my locker I glanced once more in the mirror and saw a figure behind me near the door. I turned around, shocked to see Mike standing there.

"Is it true?" Mike asked as he walked slowly toward me. I frowned, "Is what true?" My voice betrayed my nerves; something told me this was no 'are you good in trig' question.

"That you'll…you know…do any guy for fifty bucks? "Cause I got seventy-five right here." He held up a small wad of cash in his right hand, his left hand pulling on the zipper of his jeans. I was shocked for a moment; why would anyone think that?

"No…and I don't know where you got that idea, but you can tell anyone else who asks to piss off!" I said, trying to control the anger I felt. A frown began to form on Mike's face, his eyes narrowed; obviously he didn't take rejection very well. I knew I should be afraid, but I was more annoyed than anything. I pushed past him heading for the door but he caught my arm above the elbow. I hadn't noticed before how muscular he was, but I certainly noticed his strength compared to my own.

I tried to pull away more, but the harder I pulled the tighter his grip got. "I came in here for a reason, and I don't intend to let you leave until I get it. Now I offered you cash, but I can just take it, you know; everyone knows your rep, Bella. I might be the first, but I won't be the last."

He pushed my arm and the rest of my body into the wall nearest him and pressed himself against me. His lips found mine in rough, wet kisses. I struggled as hard as I could, my hands pushing against his shoulders with all my strength, but it only seemed to make him more persistent, more determined.

His hands stumbled clumsily under my shirt with frightening urgency. I heard the door to the locker room slam open. I could only hope it was Alice, having had a vision of what had happened, coming to rescue me. I should have expected my luck; it was Mike's buddies, Tyler and Eric. I heard one of them laugh cruelly behind Mike's back. Mike turned, looking over his shoulder, wordlessly. He nodded acknowledgment of their presence and went back to his present occupation, but not before I could make a feeble appeal. "Please, help me." I whimpered. But before I could plead more, Mike's mouth was back against mine, with more force this time.

Mike grabbed my shoulders, spinning me around so that my back was to Tyler and Eric. One of them grabbed my waist as Mike continued his groping, moving now to unbutton my jeans. My arms shot out in defensive motions, trying to grab the boy standing behind me, a pair of strong arms grabbed my wrists holding them tightly. Cold as ice the hands on my wrists as they brought them above my head. One of the cold hands was big enough to sufficiently hold both of my wrists in one hand, the iciness spreading through my arms chilling me to my bones.

I shivered, more from the cold hands that held my arms than from fear; I'd been through this routine enough in my lifetime, and I knew that it would be over sooner if there was no struggle. The sooner they were finished, the sooner I could get back to my life. Pathetic, I know. But it was my way of life for so many years it was second nature.

A voice spoke from behind me and it was then that I knew why the hands felt so very familiar; they belonged to a vampire. "My turn, Mike." It said fear enveloped me; the velvet voice belonged to my beloved Edward.

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**A/N: Yes, this chapter was kind of short, but to be honest; it's the one that stumped me the most! I had NO idea exactly what I should have Mike do to Bella; I went all the way from full on rape (which I planned to have Edward interrupt, but then I couldn't keep Edward from killing Mike!) to just a freaky come on...that wouldn't be enough to get out the next chapter though! The story will really begin to take off in the next chapter (yes, it is at this time complete, but I'm waiting to get through chapter 12 before posting it incase I need to change some stuff!)**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!!!**


	12. Chapter 11 Intentions

**A/N: Please forgive me fpr delaying so long; school has been kickin' my butt! I hate state government!**

**So without further delay.... the answers to SO many questions...and the beginning of the end...(no panic! I still have several chapters yet to write...)**

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**EPOV**

I was standing outside the girls' locker room when I heard Alice call me in her mind. I rushed to the building that her final class of the day was held in, which of course was the farthest from the gym. I struggled to walk at as quickly a human pace as I possibly could. I reached the door of her classroom just as she was coming out of it, having been excused for not feeling well by Mr. Dedear. I saw her panic-stricken face and my heart dropped. She was blocking her mind from me, a tactic I knew to mean something very wrong was in my or Bella's future.

"Tell me, Alice. Hold nothing back." I growled in tones too low for human ears to detect. I looked up to see Jasper coming quickly toward us from his own last class of the day. He too had been excused. Something must really be awful if Alice sent such a panicked mood to bring Jasper from his class.

When Jasper reached us Alice finally began to speak. "Edward, please stay calm until I've told you everything; our safety and Bella's depends on it." She said seriously to me. I nodded my head in acknowledgment. "No, Edward, promise me." She said, I frowned; what could possibly be so dangerous in this school yard that would endanger us and Bella?

"Fine, I promise!" I said more gruffly than I had intended; I hated when people tried to keep important things from me, whether for my own good or otherwise; it frustrated me endlessly. Alice began to speak slowly, "Bella is in the locker room, Mike is with her; his intentions are less than pure – don't start asking why I called you here, Edward; he would have gotten around you regardless. We can't burst in; he and his friends are prepared for that; they'll hold her hostage and she'll get hurt. It would be an accident, but it would happen nonetheless. We couldn't remedy his aggression without exposing what we are. We'll have to surprise him, but it will take all three of us." She looked back and forth between Jasper and I. I could feel the anger and rage welling up in my body. Mike Newton. How dare he touch my Bella. I turned on my heel and began walking back toward the gym flanked by Jasper and Alice, all of us walking at a painfully slow pace. Though quick by human standards, knowing I could be by Bella's side faster than most humans could have a fleeting thought only fueled my rage. I wanted dearly to rip Newton limb from limb as I replayed the images of Alice's vision.

I forced myself to be calm. Jasper sent much of what was holding me in check, but I made a conscious effort to allow it to help. We reached the gym and headed toward the girl's locker room. Based on Alice's vision I ordered Jasper to take and hold Tyler, Alice to take Eric, the later who was by far the smallest of the group, so that it wouldn't seem such a stretch that Alice could hold him.

We slipped quietly into the locker room and Alice and Jasper played their parts flawlessly. Silently they grabbed and held Tyler and Jasper, effectively gagging them as they held them. I effortlessly slipped into Tyler's former place behind Bella, grabbing her hands as she lashed back at me with them and pulled them above her head. Holding her hands kept me from ripping Newton's head off and gave me time to react calmly.

"My turn, Mike." I said letting the venom from my cursed body flow fully into my words. Startled he looked up from kissing Bella into my cold, black eyes. Fear washed over his face at that moment and well it should have. Little did he know he was facing death itself as he gazed, terrified upon my face.

If it weren't for my family and my love for them I'd have had Mike Newton that very moment, draining him of his very existence, every single drop would taste exquisite in my vengeance for my beloved. Instead I swallowed the poison pooling in my mouth and let go of Bella's wrists. I grabbed Mike by the arms pushing him carefully back against the wall. To a human it would be as if I slammed him into it, but I had to act with great care; tough as Mike was by human standards, he was all too breakable to me. I resisted the urge to punch him, knowing full well that I would not be able to restrain my super-human strength for much longer. I released his body and looked into his eyes wordlessly, conveying to him just how close he had come to death this very afternoon. I saw the terror fill his body and I smelled the wreaking stench of fear on his pathetic form and I knew that I had gotten my point across to him.

I turned away from him and faced his friends, still held and gagged by my brother and sister. "Release them." I ordered. My word was obeyed immediately and I walked over to them. "You will never, as long as you live your pathetically short lives, touch Bella in any way for any reason if you care at all for your existence. I will kill you and I guarantee that no one will ever find your bodies. Is that clear?" I spat out between clenched teeth. It was times like this that I half wished vampires possessed the fangs of myths and legends so that these wretched children would realize just what they were dealing with in their transgression.

I turned now to Bella as Mike and his friends fleeing from the locker room. How I wished I could hold her, but I feared, especially after such an event as had just occurred, would only hurt her further. I looked to Alice, pleading with my eyes for her to take my place. She understood my glance and rushed over to try to console a shocked Bella. Jasper spoke first, "Bella, there is nothing to fear anymore; we're not going to hurt you." Her eyes darted to him, assessing that he was infact telling the truth, glanced back at me before closing her eyes and breathing deeply. From the split second of her gaze I could see that for the moment she was far away, reliving a tortured memory from her horrific past.

"Bella,' Alice spoke quietly, "are you alright? They didn't physically hurt you did they?" Bella shook her head, Alice grabbed her bag and Bella's and began with Bella in her support toward the principal's office. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"Edward, we have to report this; those boys may have escaped our wrath, but they can't go unpunished." I nodded. True, it would look suspicious to outsiders if we or Bella didn't file a complaint. We were supposed to be humans, looking to other humans for protection and support. "Right, Jasper and I will wait in the car. It will look less suspicious if you explain that you coming to look for Bella scared those thugs off."

Alice nodded and continued with Bella to the principal's office. Jasper clapped a hand on my back supportively as we exited the locker room together.

**APOV**

I held her backpack and mine on one shoulder, and put my arm around Bella's shoulders as we walked around the gym to the office. As we entered the front office, the receptionist Mrs. Cope hurried over to us. "Dears, what's wrong?" she said, Bella's slightly off appearance obviously signaling some of the crisis that had just occurred.

"She was attacked by three boys in the girls' locker room, Ms. Cope." I began, "Tyler, Eric and Mike. I walked in looking for her and scared them away." She gasped audibly. "I'll go call the police, you sit her down over there." She said gesturing to the row of chairs along the wall. It didn't take too long for the town's police chief, Charlie Swan to arrive to take down the report. When he entered the office I heard Bella gasp as she looked up at him. I studied her face but all I could determine was further shock than she'd been in a moment before. "Bella, what's wrong?" I whispered as I sat close beside her. She returned her gaze to the floor just as it had been a moment before the police chief entered.

Bella answered questions quietly and politely, but would never return her gaze to Chief Swan. He finished taking the report and assured us that the boys in question would be brought in to the station and reprimanded for their grievance. Ms. Cope assured us that when she contacted the principal earlier; he had assured her that they would all endure a suspension of unspecified length after the police had finished with them.

After we were released, I walked with Bella to the Volvo. Edward had pulled up and parked it in front of the office so we wouldn't have far to walk. Once inside the car I turned to Bella. "What was that about?" I asked softly. She glanced at me, looking down again quickly. "Nothing." She replied.

"Bella,' Jasper began, "you're sending waves of every possible emotion a person could have all at once in maddening amounts! Please, you can't fool me; even if you can avoid Edward's gift, you can't escape mine." She looked at all of us slowly in turn, her gaze resting on Edward last of all.

"The police chief, Charlie Swan; I recognized him." She said quietly. When we didn't reply she continued. "He's my dad. I thought James had killed him when I was five. I had no idea he was still alive." Tears began to fill her eyes, but none ell from them.

"That's good news, Bella. We can help you tell him; he'll be overjoyed!" I said, but even as I spoke I knew that for some reason I was wrong; hard as I looked I could not see Charlie in Bella's future.

It was not long before Bella explained why. "Alice, Charlie has been through enough these past eleven years, he's moved on. I couldn't hurt him by ripping open the wound that was created so long ago; I'm sure he thinks I'm dead, killed by the same maniac that killed my mom. Telling him the truth would only complicate his life." The tears that had formed in her eyes began to spill over now. She made no effort to stem the flow. "Oh, Bella." I said softly, I was about to protest when Edward spoke up.

"She's right Alice. He's remarried, has two children, boys, ages 8 and 6. Telling him would complicate the life he's tried to build back up after their deaths. He didn't recognize her; I would have heard it. It's better that he not know."

Bella nodded. "It's enough for me to just know he's alive and happy." I nodded. Poor Charlie, he would probably never know how close he had come to seeing his daughter return from the dead.

As we pulled into our driveway, Jasper pulled out his cell phone and dialed Carlisle's office. Carlisle was home in less than an hour and we all gathered in the living room.

No one knew quite what to say once Edward had recounted what had transpired that day. He covered everything from Newton's assault on Bella to the fact of her true identity as Isabella Swan. Carlisle was silent through everything. After everything had been said he turned to Bella. "Of course this is your decision, dear. We will uphold whatever decision you have made in regards to the current situation. Just tell us what you want us to do."

**BPOV**

Five pairs of golden eyes rested on me, if my state of mind had been anywhere near that of a normal, psychologically functioning human being, I should have been scared to death. Five fully grown, fully lethal vampires were staring me down, waiting on my next move.

"I don't really want to go back to school. Mike said that everyone knew my reputation and that he would not be the last person to do what he did. After hearing of the police involvement and the suspension of the three most popular boys in school, I will be hated even more than if my supposed reputation were true."

Four of the five heads nodded sadly in agreement. They knew as well as I that I would not be accepted as a normal student. I could possibly function as if I truly were just another outcast Cullen, except for Mike Newton's warning; I would be assaulted again, if nothing else than to prove that I was the easy target they all assumed I was. It would be a challenge for them; get past the Cullen clan to the trollop. I had no future there.

"If I were to stay here the problems wouldn't end; I'm sure there would be some who would venture out here, if nothing else then to get revenge for the repercussions of the boys at school. I think I would be better off on my own." I finished. I had no idea where I would go, or how I would get there, but I couldn't ask for any more than the Cullens had already done for me. I certainly would not stay and put their way of life in danger.

Esme stood, walking half way to me. "Absolutely not, Bella. There is no way we would let you go out into the world alone. If you feel you can't stay then we will go where ever you feel the need to be. You are our family, sweetheart; we'd never do anything or stay anywhere that hurt any of us in any way…including you."

I shook my head. "Esme, no; it's not fair that you all uproot because of me. I'm the problem here, not any of you. I couldn't ask you to do that; you've all done so very much for me, it's just too much to ask." I said firmly.

Alice piped up. "Well, if you won't stay, and we're certainly not letting you go alone, why don't you take a little vacation?" Edward frowned as if hearing her thoughts was distasteful all of a sudden. "Why don't you go and stay with Rosalie and Emmett in Connecticut? You can recover, start over, and we'll know you're safe." Edward stood still frowning at her. "What are you not saying, Alice? I can hear you blocking your thoughts." Alice ignored him.

Carlisle and Esme looked from Alice to me. I could see the hope in their eyes, but I hesitated. I barely knew Rosalie and Emmett. They had both been very kind to me the few times they had visited in the last year, but it wasn't very long that they had stayed. "I don't want to impose on them." I began, but Alice and Esme quickly cut me off. "Oh, no, they'd love to have you, dear. It wouldn't be an imposition at all!" Esme said, followed by Alice. "Of course, Bella. I mentioned it only because I saw it already. It would actually be very good for you, and Esme is right, they really would love to have you stay with them for a while."

I hesitated again, I knew better than to question Alice. "When do I leave?" I tried to smile a little but it would not come. I knew that while what I was doing would be best for everyone involved, I would not be near my Edward. I glanced in his direction to see that his eyes had already found mine. His stare was hard and hurt. I knew that he must feel betrayed my willingness to leave him, but after all, he had distanced himself from me for months now. What would moving across the country matter?

It would matter a lot. I could feel my heart breaking inside me as I packed the belongings I would need later that evening. I was scheduled to leave on a plane from Seattle at nine the next morning. I heard a small knock on my door post and I knew who it was before he ever spoke. "Come in, Edward." I whispered.

He was behind me in seconds. Though he hadn't really touched me in weeks I could feel his presence.

"Please don't feel like you have to explain your decision, Bella. This is exactly what I would have suggested if I weren't the selfish bastard that I am." He said softly. "Emmett and Rose can continue your education as well as I could, and New Haven is a beautiful place. I will come visit you during spring break, and of course Rose and Emmett will be flying here for Thanksgiving and Christmas."

It sounded like he was trying to console himself as much as he was me. I turned to face him. "I'm so sorry how things have turned out, Edward. I wish James would have come back sooner; I can't stand knowing I've caused you pain." My eyes flowed with tears, I wanted so badly just to reach out and stroke his face, but I couldn't let myself; it would just make it that much harder to leave.

"Bella, no! Don't you ever think such a thing! Finding you was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you more than I could ever express. I'm just glad that you'll be safe; I won't have to worry about you while you're with Rosalie and Emmett."

"I love you too, Edward." I cried. We sat there on my bed until I fell asleep. I knew that Edward kept his distance from me now even in my sleep, only touching me to pull me from a bad dream. When I woke he was not in the house. I knew that he probably would not accompany us to the airport in an effort to make it easier on me.

I kept from crying again until I was in the air. I had twelve hours to control my emotions before Rosalie picked me up in Hartford and drove me back to their home in New Haven.

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**A/N: Better now? I think some of you were a little worried that ole Eddie was more sinister than we want him to be...nah...that'd throw this thing WAAAAY off.**

**Reviews will be rewarded with sweet Cullen boy dreams! (Well, I hope so anyways; I've been having ALOT!)**


	13. Chapter 12 Changes

**A/N: Here it is... the turning point of the story! Hope you enjoy!**

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**BPOV**

I stood waiting at the terminal when I saw her; the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. Even though I had seen her before, she still took my breath away. Her long blond hair, golden eyes and pale skin gave her an ethereal appearance. She smiled warmly as she approached me. "Bella, how was your flight?" Rosalie asked pleasantly. I smiled as best I could; my crying spell had only lasted for the first two hours of the flight, but I had only begun really trying to pull it together for the last three hours. I feared I was failing miserably.

"Oh, you know…twelve hours of bliss." I joked. Rosalie laughed, her voice was beautiful when she spoke, but her laugh sounded like angels dancing. "You know, Bella, you don't have to put on a happy face for us; we might not be human, but we know what it's like to be miserable sometimes. I just don't want you to think that you have to pretend, ok?" I nodded with a sigh of relief.

"Where's Emmett?" I asked trying to change the awkward subject of my misery. Rose smiled again. "He's cut classes too many times this semester; if he cut again today he'd have to repeat the semester next year. His grades are phenomenal, but the university has an attendance policy." I nodded. "Well, it's not a big deal; I just noticed he wasn't here." I said. I didn't want Rosalie to think I was ungrateful.

"You know, I'm not enrolled this year; we're living as an engaged couple. I tell people that I'm doing a distance learning thing at another college but that I didn't want to live far away from Emmett, or for him to miss this opportunity. So you won't be lonely while you're here." She said.

"Oh, I didn't know; Alice made it seem like you were both attending." I said as she shook her head.

The car ride in Rosalie's BMW convertible was a pleasant one. We chatted about mundane things like fashion, how I wanted my room decorated, where we would shop for said decorations. Rosalie seemed genuinely excited to have me here. "It's not that I get bored with Emmett; I don't. It's just nice to have female companionship again. Emmett really hates to shop, and it's not really easy or practical to make friends of the local humans. Emmett has already run across two singers in the past seventy-five years and neither of them ended well." Rosalie commented.

When we pulled up to their 'house' I just sat in the car looking dumbly up at the awesome home. Everyone kept saying that Rose and Emmett lived in New Haven, but I found out quickly that 'New Haven' was more a generalization; they actually lived in Woodbridge, and Emmett attended university in New Haven.

The house was a large beige structure. For having only one floor it was surprisingly tall. The interior was decorated in a similar way to the house in Forks; the furniture, paint, everything was in varying shades of white and off white, blending perfectly in harmony with everything else.

Rosalie smiled as I looked around. "Your room has already been painted; Edward called and said that your room should be blue to match your skin tone." I smiled; how ridiculous of him to think of coordinating the walls of my room to my pale white skin. Still, I could not believe that he paid such close attention to minute details. It truly flattered me to know that he was still thinking of me, even when we were apart.

After I had settled into my room and unpacked everything I joined Rosalie in the living room. We sat on her large plush white couches and chatted some more. There was a moment of silence in between topics and she seized the moment. "Alice told me what happened at school, Bella. I know that's probably the very last thing you want to talk about and I want you to know that that's alright; but before we drop the subject I wanted to tell you about how I was changed and the events surrounding that. Then if you still don't want to talk, we won't bring it up again unitl you decide you're ready. Is that alright?"

I sighed, and nodded. Edward had told me of most everyone in the Cullen family's story of how and when they were changed at their deaths, but he didn't mention much about Rosalie. I supposed that he either didn't know or had some other reason why she was left out, but oddly I never questioned why before. I now had a sneaking suspicion that the reason might be because her story was too close to my own; he didn't want to risk upsetting me or setting back my progress.

She began telling me about her life as a human. It was odd to hear her speak so clearly about it; the others had fuzzy memories of their own human lives and other than Carlisle, it was easier for Edward to tell me because he remembered them better because he was the first to be changed. She told me about her rich fiancé, his friends and how after raping her they left her on the road for dead. She told me how Carlisle found her, changed her and how she woke up to her new existence unhappy and resentful that she had not been allowed to die.

What I did not expect was that she told me what happened to her fiancé and his friends after she was turned. She told me from beginning to end how she had waited and planned and finally proceeded to kill each and every one of them slowly and torturously in front of her fiancé. Ending finally with his own death and her relief at having her vengeance, but how Edward had saved her, once again, from her own demise.

"Today, I'm grateful that he saved me from burning with my betrothed in that wooden shack that night, because three years later, I found Emmett and Carlisle changed him for me. But even then, when Carlisle and Edward saved me, neither of them advocated having my revenge. In fact, they tried very hard to discourage me; but I'm still glad I did what I did. Otherwise there would have been any number of unfortunate girls to suffer the fate I did, and I found out later on, that I was not the first."

I took in what she had told me, I was lost in thought for a moment. "But, Rose, you were a vampire, you had something over your offenders. Our situations are reversed, I could never kill James, much less torture him, though the thought has often crossed my mind. I know I'm not the first that he has raped and tortured either, but most of his victims die shortly after." I said. I looked up at Rosalie, a wicked gleam in her eye.

"Did you know that I never tasted one drop of their blood?" She asked. I shook my head. "A newborn vampire that could resist the call of blood…any blood, is rare. Carlisle thought that it might have been because I was so hell-bent of getting my revenge."

I just looked at her, amazed. Edward had spoken of them all as newborn vampires. He told me what they were like, ravenous, bloodthirsty creatures. But he had never mentioned Rosalie's abstinence. I wondered why.

I heard Emmett's jeep pulling into the driveway and the door slamming shut. Rosalie smiled once more before giving her final word on the subject. "Do you know the only thing that can kill a vampire, Bella? Another vampire. Newborns are the strongest." And that was all she had time to say before the front door burst open behind me and Emmett grabbed me up into a great bear hug. For someone so large he was surprisingly gentle.

We spent the rest of the day catching up and playing video games. Video games were a big deal for Emmett and it seemed that he had not had anyone to duel against since he and Rose had split from the Cullens over a year ago. Rosalie's interests lied more along the lines of fashion, home décor and car modifications.

It was several days later when Emmett came into my room, his bottom lip stuck out as far as it would go. "Bella, will you watch a movie with me? Rose is busy with the Beamer and I'm lonely." He couldn't hold his pout for long, but he knew the act would likely win me over. I laughed, "Of course Emmett, just let me put away these clean clothes and I'll meet you in the living room."

Ten minutes later I walked into the living room to find Emmett sprawled out on one of the over-stuffed couches and the other laden with snack foods for me. "Wow, Emmett….what's the occasion?"

He smiled from ear to ear. "Interview with the Vampire, Bells. It's one of my favorites! I didn't want you to have to get up to miss anything." He laughed. I smiled, "How….thoughtful." I settled into the couch and he started the movie. It went on in a typical fashion that most vampire movies did. I really like the character named Louis; he reminded me of Edward, but I couldn't figure out why. When I mentioned this to Emmett after the movie ended he burst out laughing.

"I know why! Because Louis and Edward are both self-pitying, masochists who like to wallow in their own suffering misery, that's why!" He said loudly. I giggled at his explanation. I don't think I would have put it quite like that, but what he said did have a ring of truth to it; both Louis and Edward did seem to beat themselves up over things that they could never help, or that no one could change.

I filed the more interesting scenes from the movie away in my mind for further consideration. Later that night while I was lying in my bed, wishing for sleep, the scenes from the movie came flooding back to me. Most specifically, the ones that involved vampires changing humans into other vampires. Edward had never actually told me how it was done, and the movie seemed to be somewhat credible, at least in my experience. I made a mental note to ask Rosalie about this tomorrow when Emmett had gone to school. I had a feeling that she would tell me a lot more than Edward or Alice ever would; but I wasn't exactly sure why that was.

I lay there wondering what it would feel like to be changed. Rosalie had planted the seed in my mind the first day I had come to stay with them. I could take James out if I were a newborn vampire. Of course he would come looking for me. He was probably already on my trail; James was a tracker, it's what he did. Would it really be responsible of me to be defenseless when he came for me? Would it be fair to put the others in danger after they had done so much for me? What was the purpose of saving me if not to make me one of them eventually? At one time I had shunned the thought entirely, even until recently. But once I had heard that Rosalie, a newborn with no special powers or abilities had had the strength to restrain herself in the presence of all that blood….it made me think. I wasn't going after humans after all. I was after James and Victoria. If Rosalie could help me…if she and Emmett could restrain me for the first year or so, and not let me harm any humans….

Edward would never go for this, and Alice would surely see my decision. So I decided not to make that decision…not yet anyway. Not until it was too late for them to do anything about it.

The next day I found Rosalie sitting on the couch reading a popular Mechanics magazine and I thought this might be my best chance. "Rose, can we talk?" I asked tentatively.

She smiled, I know now that she knew what was coming, but had to restrain herself not to push me; she was determined to let me come to this decision on my own.

"Sure, Bella. What's on your mind?" I sat on the edge of the cushion. I didn't know how to begin. "Well, Emmett and I were watching a movie yesterday, and I had a few questions…" She smiled wider, finishing my question for me. "And you want to know all about how humans are made into vampires, right?" She shook her head, "I'm not surprised that dear Edward conveniently left that part out." Rosalie put down her magazine and settled into the couch farther, resting her hands in her lap, her back straightened. She looked like a mother hen about to explain to her little blossom all about the birds and the bees.

"Bella, what you saw yesterday is both true and untrue. A vampire bite is the first step in creating a new vampire. What the movie mistakenly leaves out is that it's not just five minutes of your body dying and boom your beautiful and ethereal and all that. It actually takes about three days on average, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on where you're bitten, how many bites you have received and how close you are to death. A person who is fully alive and well, like yourself, would probably take a little less time; you're heart is pumping nice and hard so it would get the venom through your body faster."

I nodded, trying to take it all in at once. "But, do I have t drink your, I mean…the vampire's blood like on the movie?" She smiled. "No. Our mouths are filled with venom; it's more like a snake bite, really. Only instead of dying completely when your heart finally stops, only your body dies. You're basically you, but without the pulse or the ability to age." This made much more sense. So I would still be able to be me, not some zombie that thirsted for blood and human flesh like I'd imagined.

"Rosalie?" I asked softly. "Of course I would, Bella." She answered. She had known. I knew that it should have bothered me at the time, but it didn't. We both knew that it was inevitable if I wanted to live. Why not now? If it was a split second decision, Alice wouldn't have time to warn Edward. He and I had never really talked about it, but I knew how he felt; otherwise he'd have done it himself. Why would he try so hard to keep away from me if he had only planned on changing me so that we could be together?

I hoped he wouldn't be angry with me, but at least if he were I could go my own way and actually take care of myself. I decided I wouldn't let myself think about it; no matter Edward's reaction, this was the way it had to be.

"Rosalie, we have to do this as soon as possible; Alice will see if we hesitate at all." I said; my pulse quickening. She smiled sadly. "I can't believe I'm so willing to do this; I always told myself that I would never subject another human being to a fate like mine, but you're right; you're worse off like you are." Rosalie stood and walked toward me. I stood to face her. "I'm ready, Rose." I said bravely. She smiled wider. "No, you're not, but maybe it's better that way."

She placed her cold left hand on my shoulder, the other hand cradling my head as I leaned back for her to get a better angle; my movie watching had given me an idea of how it was done.

"Now,' Rosalie began, 'I'm going to bite your neck quickly, then move on to your limbs and torso as quickly as possible. The faster your heart beats, the faster this venom will get through you." I nodded as best I could in the position I was standing in. I could feel her icy breath on my throat and it was then that I felt the adrenaline rush through my system. This was my death.

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**A/N: Reviews are like Valentines chocolates.... mmmm, all I can picture is a Cullen boy in heart-print boxers with a piece of candy between his teeth....go get it girls!**


	14. Chapter 13 Rebirth

**A/N: You guys have been so awesome on the reviews! Thank you all so much for reading this and being so enthusiastic! I liked my story from the moment I thought it up, but honestly it would never have been able to make it this far without you guys! I'm afraid there are only two to three chapters left in this story... so sad to see it end; I have really enjoyed writing it and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I really hate to end this one, but I really don't think drawing it out further would enhance the story...rather it would hinder it. - There will be other stories from me! I promise!- (If you like my style, add me to your author alert and you'll be notified if and when I put out anything new!)**

**Thanks again to you readers and to my Betas, without whom I could never have had the confidence to ever publish my ff! Love you guys!**

**Disclaimer: You know I'm not Stephenie (therefore I own nothing Twilight related but my imagination) **

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**BPOV**

I felt the fear rush through me with the first touch of Rosalie's cold lips on the flesh of my neck. I tried to think clearly enough to brace myself for the pain I knew that was coming but I was too late; I had barely begun to think this very thought when I felt a stabbing, crushing, burning pain in my neck. I couldn't hold in the scream that escaped my throat. Like lightning she did just as she told me she was going to do, biting quickly on my neck, wrists and ankles. I felt the last bite between my left breast and collar bone. That was the last thought I remember thinking; all I could do now was feel. The fire that engulfed me was excruciating. I could hear someone screaming in the background, but I could not see; the pain was blinding.

**RPOV**

I bit her as quickly as I could, but I knew that no matter how many bites she received that the pain of the fiery venom would still take time to spread completely.

I picked her up and carried her to her bed. I vividly remembered the pain that turned me into the creature that I am, and I felt pity for Bella.

I had been a self-centered, superfluous fool of a girl. Bella was sweet and kind and not on the brink of death when her kiss had come. For the second time in my entire existence I had played the part of death. I knew that some part of me should feel ashamed, but like that night so long ago, I felt no such emotion.

She would be dead if I didn't do something about it. Edward would be content to let her suffer for her pitifully short lifetime and Carlisle would listen to Edward. No one would go against Edwards' word. No one but me.

I sat with her until I heard the door open and shut, by now her screams had diminished into pitiful moans. She must have realized by now, however subconsciously, that screaming would not release the pain, only increase it. Unlike me when I had been first bitten, she did not beg for death, only whimpered and moaned because of the pain.

Emmett walked into the room. I looked up at him nonchalantly. His brow furrowed as he glanced from me to Bella. "Rosalie, what did you DO?" He rushed over to her; the realization of what was going on finally hit him. He looked back up at me, his child-like golden eyes questioningly. He looked at me as if he didn't know me. "Relax, Emmett, she asked me to do it.

Who am I to try and talk her out of her decision?"

"Rose, she couldn't possibly know what she was asking for! What the hell were you thinking?" His voice raised a full octave from the beginning of his question to the end. I rolled my eyes. "Emmett, sweetheart, she and I have been talking about this for a while. She can't possibly face James or Victoria like she was; and she didn't feel right about endangering Edward or any of the rest of the family when the time does come."

He didn't relent at that though; I knew what he was really thinking before he ever said it.

"Rose, Edward's going to kill us!" I smiled. "Emmett, you know very well I don't give a …" "Rose! You just created a freaking vampire! Out of our sister! You think Alice isn't seeing this? They're all probably on their way to burn us to ashes right now!"

"First of all, Em, I did it this morning. Don't you think we would have at least heard from them by now?" I asked. Emmett had no words to answer me. He just stood there staring at our dear dying sister. I caught a glance of myself in the mirrored vanity, I looked affright! I had blood staining my white blouse that I hadn't noticed before; I had been caught up in staying beside Bella all day long and had not given much thought to my appearance. No wonder Emmett had a funny look about him. It was not like me to neglect my appearance for anything, much less a human's pitiable condition.

"Watch her a minute while I change." I commanded to Emmett as I left Bella's room.

**BPOV**

The deafening screaming had long since passed, but my hearing was not the better for it; the pain wracking my body was too great to allow much thought other than the odd thought when the burning ebbed back slightly. I could feel the waves rise to a crescendo and slowly pull back with ever beat and relax of my heart. It beat slowly at first, making the searing torture move slowly to a central point in my body, but slowly over the time that passed my heart began beating ever faster, even if it was at a snails' pace.

As my heart rate increased the fire burned ever brighter, but some parts of me began to dull to it. I was sure those parts no longer existed; they were numb as if they had all been amputated. I felt the numbness first in the side of my neck, then in my hands and feet. At this point I was unsure of how many hours or days had passed. It seemed that forever had come and gone and still I was left to suffer.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I began to be able to think, to hear, to smell. I kept my eyes closed for fear of seeing my amputated limbs lying around me. The pain was concentrated in one spot right now. It wound around my heart like red hot barbed wire. My heart was now beating at speeds unknown to any mortal but they who had gone through this wicked transformation. Finally when I thought my heart would finally explode, it began to slow. I heard Emmett and Rosalie come into the room. The sound of their footsteps whisper quiet on the plush thick carpet, were as loud to me as stiletto heels on a steel drum. I winced, not at the sound of their footfalls, but at one last explosion within me. A shock ran through my entire body and with it the last beat my heart would ever know. I was complete.

I opened my eyes slowly. Rosalie and Emmett's faces came into my immediate view. Rosalie was smiling triumphantly. Emmett looked as scared as I had ever seen a vampire look. I took their features in. Their faces were so much more beautiful than I remember; it was as if my eyes had adjusted to see things in a light and spectrum I had never known existed. The new spectrum enhanced and beautified the vampires who had taken me in only days ago. I had never thought that anything could be more beautiful than Rosalie Cullen. I had been right and wrong at the same time. Rosalie, viewed with my new eyes was more exquisite than I can describe with mere words. "She's gorgeous." Rosalie said. At first I nodded in agreement, my only thought was that she was speaking of herself. Rosalie let out a quiet laugh and I realized who she must have been referring to. I sat up slowly. I seemed to move both in regular time and in slow motion all at once. Every single move I made seemed so calculated, but I did it with as little thought as I had always done.

I turned to look into the mirror on my vanity. I do not remember being moved here from the living room where Rose had bitten me, but I woke up instinctively knowing where I lie. Its smell told me where I was. I suddenly understood what Edward had meant about my scent. I could smell the remnants of my human scent on my belongings. It was intoxicatingly sweet and alluring.

I looked now into my mirror. The sight would have shocked me if I had retained the composure that I had had as a human. The figure staring back at me was similar to the human Bella I was accustomed to seeing in the mirror before. But many things had changed so that I felt I was staring into the eyes of a stranger. The eyes, oh the eyes! The purest amethyst I had ever seen were captured in the eyes of the beautiful figure I saw reflected before me.

Her hair was the deepest mahogany, her skin the palest shade of bone and smoother than the purest piece of ivory. Her full, pouting lips were the reddest blood rose. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her movements mirrored mine exactly. She was me! "Rosalie, thank you," she murmured. Her voice was like water flowing swiftly over rounded rocks in a brook.

I looked back to Rosalie and Emmett. "Where are the others?" I asked. Emmett stepped forward, his fearful look dropping just a bit as he confided his own wonder at their absence. "We have no idea; we haven't heard anything from them in days. I thought they'd be here too as soon as Alice saw what was happening to you. I'll be surprised to say the least if she somehow missed it!" He said.

"Then we shall have to go to them." I said. Rosalie nodded once and began packing up enough of my belongings for the journey. Emmett tried to get me to hunt, but I insisted that I was not thirsty in the least. That statement only increased his wariness of me. We packed quickly, loaded the car and headed for Forks. I wished for the first time that I could cry, not for sorrow, but at the beauty of the world that now surrounded me. It was stunning.

**APOV**

I could barely contain my excitement. Rosalie, Emmett and Bella were only hours away from our house. I had seen them coming yesterday and on top of everything I had been trying to keep from Edward and Jasper, I feared I would burst before I got the chance to see my newly vamped sister.

Edward had grown suspicious two days ago when he realized that I was avoiding him mentally and physically. Jasper, too, was being avoided so he brushed it off as the anxiety I had been feeling since Bella had gone to stay with Rosalie and Emmett two weeks ago. Edward knew that I was constantly going over every possible scenario of Bella's future since she had left and after the first week had grown tired of my constantly shifting mind. Thankfully I hadn't seen Rosalie's decision until it was too late. I had seen the whole thing while I was hunting alone, a rare occasion.

Several hours later I listened intently for Rosalie's car to pull into our driveway. Jasper sat down on the couch beside me and could contain his question no longer. "Alice, you're absolutely bursting with joy…what on earth is going on?" I looked over at him and just smiled. Soon enough all heads in the room turned toward the direction of the front door. "Who could that be?" Esme wondered aloud as we all heard the crunch of tires on the gravel.

Edward's head snapped up, "Rosalie and Emmett!" In a flash all five vampires were out the front door.

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**A/N: Reviews are the icing on the cake! Hmm, no.... reviews are the icing on a Cullen! (Your choice, of course!)**


	15. Chapter 14 Gifted

**A/N: As requested: an UPDATE!!!! I love all the reviews...you guys are so awesome!**

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**EPOV**

Alice had been insufferable ever since Bella had left to stay at Rosalie and Emmett's house. It was bad enough that I was out of my mind with anxiety at her decision, but now I had to hear Alice constantly going over every single possibility that could ever befall my sweet Bella. At first I shared the constant vigilance, but after a while I was so on edge with all the possible horrors that could take place that I had to begin consciously blocking Alice's thoughts all the time. Jasper, too, had begun avoiding Alice for the sake of his own sanity. All of the emotions radiating from her were just too much to take. I was very seriously contemplating flying to New Haven and bringing Bella home as soon as possible; we three gifted were going insane because of it all.

Jasper had finally re-entered the room and sat next to his lately estranged wife. "Alice, you're absolutely bursting with joy…what on earth is going on?" he asked. She just looked at him smiling. Just then Esme looked up; we all heard the unexpected crunch of gravel in the driveway. "Who could that be?" Esme wondered aloud. I listened to the thoughts out on our front lawn and my dead heart dropped in a panic. "Rose, I'm sure they already know we're here; Alice might be a little off her game lately but there's no way she could miss us deciding to come here." Emmett whispered as they got out of the car. "Shhh, just keep her inside the car until we have him restrained." Rosalie whispered back.

"Rosalie and Emmett." I said aloud. Before anyone could blink all five of us were at the front door. As we stood, confused, anxious, curious on the porch I met the hard challenging glare of Rosalie. Emmett glanced between me and the ground repeatedly. Guilt…that was the emotion I could hear going through Jasper's mind as he evaluated Emmett. I listened hard for his assessment of Rosalie… defiance.

My mind reeled. Bella was at the center of this; what other reason would they have for acting this way and showing up here unannounced? I searched the car for signs of Bella; her scent was here, but nothing else. Something was missing…something was different. I couldn't quite place my finger on it.

"Jasper, would you be so kind as to assist Emmett in restraining our brother?" Rosalie asked politely as if she were asking for a cup of tea. Jasper and Emmett moved into position behind me before I had time to contemplate what was going on. Two sets of hands, hard as rock, were gripping my arms for dear life as Rosalie moved to the back door of the car. She placed her hand on the handle and turned dramatically to face the rest of us.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the new Bella Cullen." She said as she opened the car door. Time seemed to slow as she moved in the back seat of Rose's BMW. I could smell her scent growing stronger as she stirred in the car. Her foot, so delicate and small touched the ground. Out of habit I tried to move forward to catch her; getting out of cars had been quite an ordeal before she left, she seemed to stumble there a lot. The hands tightened their grip on me. Why on earth would they feel they needed to restrain me from my beloved? I sniffed the air again. She wasn't bleeding; that would have been obvious before the car had ever stopped. I didn't have much longer to contemplate the possibilities. Bella, very gracefully, exited the car with no assistance from Rosalie. Rose, to my surprise, hadn't even made a precautionary move toward her. Her hair fluttered in the breeze as she began to walk toward us. Nothing about her looked any different; the 'new Bella' certainly didn't seem to be the product of a makeover of wardrobe change. The only other 'new' I could think of would be if she had been… "No." I said; it couldn't be; Rosalie and Emmett would know better…wouldn't they?

Bella walked, very smoothly toward me, as if out of a dream. Her eyes, downcast, as she approached. It seemed an eternity before she stood before me. She said nothing, her eyes still concentrating on the ground before her. I realized that I was holding my breath… with her being this close her scent would have been overwhelming…I hadn't seen her in weeks; I couldn't risk it. I looked on as my singer stood before me trying to find words. I feared seeing her eyes, afraid of what might have been done to her…no; that was utterly ridiculous; Alice would have seen it.

"Bella," I finally said. She raised her eyes to my own. I gasped; her beautiful brown eyes had been replaced by brilliant violet orbs. I frowned. At once elated that they were not the glowing crimson I had feared, but my heart, had it been beating, would have stopped at the glimmering purple pools I was now lost in.

"Bella. What's…going on?" I asked. She opened her lovely mouth to speak, and though I recognized the voice that followed as similar to my Bella's voice, there seemed to be an echo in it, it was as if the voice I heard was carried upon the winds to my ears. It was the voice of the fae, so beautiful you could almost imagine it in the sound of all the nature that surrounded you. "I convinced Rosalie to change me, Edward. I couldn't live the way I was; so weak and helpless."

**BPOV**

He looked at me as if I were some new, unknown creature no one had ever laid eyes upon. I knew the words I had just said had not yet registered to him… he was in shock.

Suddenly his golden eyes turned the deepest black. His gaze was murderous. I stood before him, unsmiling, determined. What could he do about it now? The deed was done, irreversible, and permanent.

His gaze turned from me to Rosalie, then to Emmett behind him and finally to Alice. He had realized his betrayal. They had unknowingly worked together to keep him out of the loop, purposely if individually. He wrenched his grip from Jasper and Emmett's grasp. At first I was sure he was going to lunge at one of us. Instead he turned toward the woods and ran. I made to follow him, but Alice stayed me by grabbing my arm. "Not yet, Bella…wait until dawn; he should be alright by then. He needs time to come to terms, ok?"

I nodded. I wanted nothing more than to cradle his body in my arms. In my new body I could no longer feel the cold of the vampire's skin…it no longer reminded me of James or Victoria. I finally felt free.

The eight of us went inside to await Edward's return. The family congratulated me and offered their support of my decision. Everything seemed so different and so familiar at the same time. Carlisle was not intrigued by my eye color… red nor gold…he said he had never encountered a vampire with an eye color even close to my own. He was also intrigued by the fact that I had not hunted, nor felt the need or want to do so. It seemed as if I was actually subsisting on my own blood. He was sure that could not last for long and encouraged the others to be ready when I had used up my supply; he feared it would be the thirst of a newborn ten times over for me not consuming any outside blood supply.

I enjoyed the fact that I no longer grew tired, but there was a part of me that still felt that restless feeling while Edward was away. With no sleep cycle time felt rather extended, stretched somehow.

That made it seem like days since Edward had raced into the woods rather than hours. I kept looking to Alice, she, in turn, would shake her head. 'Not yet' she was telling me, 'give him more time.' I was unsure of how long my patience would last.

**EPOV**

I kept running until I could no longer recognize my surroundings. I was in a place I had never been before, but that was of no consequence to me right now. My Bella was dead. My Bella was undead, and at the hand of my own sister. I had been betrayed. Surely Bella had not thought this up on her own, Rose must have encouraged her, coaxed her into her decision. I could not bear the thought that my love had been so violated by one she had trusted. By one I had entrusted her with! I should never have let her go.

My mind reeled for hours like this. The next time I looked up the sun was low in the sky, twilight was upon me. I heard crunching at my back and was startled that I hadn't heard anyone approach. I turned to see a glorious version of my Bella standing before me. She was so different, but yet so very much the same. The only sensory difference was that I could not hear her heart beat, see her blush… I would miss that.

"Edward. They told me not to come find you, but I was worried. I want to explain. Please let me in." Bella said, her voice was soft and low, but still it echoed with the wind. My eyes met hers, immediately I felt ashamed at my reaction, I did not want her to think that I did not want her this way… just not so soon.

"I knew you would end up like me, Bella, eventually. How could you not? I just hoped it would not be so very soon… you're so young. So fragile. I feared you would not withstand the transformation. Or at least, that your mind would not." I said. She smiled warmly. "Rosalie did not coax me, Edward, I asked her to do it. I knew you would not, for fear of my safety. I don't want you to feel betrayed by anyone, we would not have kept it from you of it were not immediately necessary." I frowned, I had been thinking these very thoughts though I had not uttered them aloud… surely Alice had not foreseen the path of my mind; it had not yet been decided. "How did you know I suspected Rosalie?" I asked. "I heard you say so, Edward. Just as clearly as we are speaking now." She answered. My suspicions were confirmed. "You can read minds." I said… it wasn't a question. "Yes. Yours more clearly than others. Your thoughts are almost like my own, but in your voice." She smiled as she bit her lip, her eyes focused on the ground just before me. I took a step closer to her, her scent was more faint than before in the driveway… it intrigued me; standing this close to her it should be quite strong, even if she was upwind from me. "You smell different, lighter. Why?" I don't know why I expected her to automatically know the answer to this… but I could not contain my curiosity.

"I don't know… you smell lighter too. I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it." She gave me a puzzled look. I stepped closer; she was less than a foot from me. I reached out to stroke her hair and was very surprised when my hand completely missed her. I frowned; I tried again, this time I aimed to place my hand on her face. It missed the mark again. It was as if my hand had been redirected from her presence to another place near her. I leaned forward, both arms out as if to catch her in them, into a great bear hug, but just as they were to close onto her body she was nearly a foot away from me.

I smiled, half frustrated, half amused. "I knew newborns were quick, but this is ridiculous. Stop playing games." She looked at me as if I were crazy.

"Edward what are you talking about? I haven't moved." I laughed to myself. Alright, if she wanted it this way, she would get it… I had time.

We walked slowly back to the house, she filling me in on the reasons she had decided to change so early on rather than waiting. While I understood her reasoning, I did not agree. I did not let on how strongly opposed I was to her change; I feared it would only drive a wedge between us, one I wasn't sure I could handle. My Bella was back, in some form, and I was going to keep her here.

As we reached the driveway I realized I had been talking more than necessary. I turned toward Bella but noticed that she seemed to be concentrating on something else. I stopped for a moment but she seemed not to notice. I could sense her smell getting stronger…odd, I thought. But still I continued to keep close pace with her. We entered the living room and I was met with the start of my life. The Bella that was standing in front of me slightly fading from view and another one sitting next to a very concerned-looking Alice. The one next to Alice had her eyes closed and appeared to be in some trance-like state. I looked quickly to my side to find that the Bella that had been standing there had vanished. The Bella next to Alice opened her eyes and looked in my direction.

"Oh, Edward, thank goodness you're back! She's been in some dream-like state for a while since you left!" Alice said, looking very relieved that her best friend had seemed to 'snap out of it.'

"Alice, what are you talking about? Bella's been with me for the past half hour…we were in the woods. She came to find me." I stated. Alice gave me the look that had crossed Bella's face not twenty minutes ago. "Edward Cullen, are you going mad? Bella's been right here next to me since you left." I stared at my smallest sister incredulously. We both then looked to Bella. She looked sheepishly at me and then at Alice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle anyone. I don't know exactly how it happened, Alice, but Edward's not crazy. I have been with him for the past half hour or so… I just sat down and started thinking about him really hard and then I was there…in the woods. He was standing with his back to me. As soon as we walked through the door I saw you sitting here, looking at empty space and then I was here sitting beside you again. It was really weird."

Carlisle stood up from the chair he was sitting in near the fireplace. "It looks as if our family has been blessed with yet another unique gift. I believe you might have the power of projection, Bella. Similar as it sounds to Alice's gift, yours seems to be in real time not the future. Obviously you, too, go into a trance-like state. But you communicated with the person you were looking for… much like Jasper's gift, reaching out to him through means other than the physical." I spoke up as well, "And Bella, what am I thinking right now?" I asked her. She looked at me and shrugged. "I don't know." She said.

"Carlisle, in the woods she was reading my mind; she could hear my thoughts… 'As clearly as if we were talking, only in my voice rather than her own.'" Carlisle looked surprised. "I'd say she has something of the three of you…all wrapped into one." Carlisle excused himself and retreated to his study… I knew he was going to research; the mysteries of our kinds' gifts intrigued him greatly.

We talked about her newfound ability for a while and then moved onto other subjects. I would catch a glimpse from Jasper every now and then. I knew he could feel my anxiety, my apprehension. My sadness at the loss of my little Bella, my joy at never having to let her go again. It was utter confusion for me; I could not imagine what it must feel like second hand.

After a while Bella and I retired to her room. It was left just the way it had been when she had left. She turned to me, a knowing smile on her face. "It smells strongly of you, Edward. Did you spend much time here?" I grinned, nodding my head. If only she knew; I had rarely left her room other than necessity to hunt now and again.

"I came here a bit, yes. I missed you greatly, Bella. I love you still. Please forgive me for pulling away from you in those last months before you left. I could not bear to harm you and it seemed like each time I touched you it sent you to a place filled with awful memories. I didn't want to be the cause of your pain." She smiled at me again. "I know why you did what you did. I would have done the same had it been me causing you pain. But I'm alright now… when I feel vampire skin…it's warm. No unhappy memories."

"Really? Well, then shall we test it?" I smiled mischievously. Inside my head I was going over and over the adverse possibilities… but my heart was more than ready to hold her again. I leaned in closer to her and placed my lips lightly on hers. Instinctively she clung to me, her hands in my hair, her body pressed fully into mine. But this time there was no fainting, no faltering. Only she and I. I could see eternity laid out before me…she would be mine forever. I could barely wrap my mind around the concept.

As she pulled away from me I looked into her amethyst eyes. They were deep and inviting, I could not ask for more than to be able to stand there and stare into them for the rest of my existence. But the look in them was not the love I felt reflected back to me. It was fear.

"No." Bella whispered. "No." I frowned. What could have upset her? Was it me? Had her feelings for me disappeared while I had enforced my abstinence from her presence?

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**A/N: Ok, please review! The fight scene is coming up really soon! Happy Valentine's Day!**


	16. Chapter 15 Catalyst

**A/N: Here it is...the chapter before the last chapter. The fight scene! Hope you enjoy! (Note to those with sensitive stomachs: I'm pretty descriptive with this one, so...be warned.)**

**Love to my Betas! Love to my readers! - You guys are the best!!!-  
**

**Disclaimer: You know I'm not Stephenie... if I were, Breaking Dawn would have happened something like this....**

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**BPOV**

"No." I said as I pulled away from Edward's embrace. It couldn't be. "No." I said again…they had found me. James and Victoria, their smell permeated the area…they were close. How close I did not know, but I couldn't allow them to harm my family. James would not stop at killing me; he would have them all on a pyre for stealing his property and hiding it from him. I wondered if he knew yet. If he could smell that I was different. I hoped I could take him by surprise, but even if I could not, I could rely on my newborn strength to help me.

Edward looked at me fearfully; I knew the fear in my own eyes was reflected into his. "They've come for me, Edward. I must meet them before they come here. I love you." I said as I turned away. Edward caught me by the arm. "You're not going to fight them, Bella; they'll rip you apart. Jasper and I will take care of them." He said. "No, Edward; this is something I have to do on my own. Please allow me my vengeance…for what he has done to me…" he cut me off, "For what he has done to you he will surely pay, Bella. But it should not be by your hand. You will regret it more than you know. Maybe not now, but tomorrow, or the day after. Killing our own is not something we do lightly."

I looked him dead in the eye. "I know Edward. I do not do this lightly." I ran at vampire speed from the room, too quickly for Edward to follow, though I knew he would.

I was in the woods before the rest of the family could question me. I was on his trail, I wasn't sure at the moment if he knew I was near him, or even if this was part of his plan, but I knew I would not have to wait for long.

I could smell the stench of him the closer I got. The closer I got the angrier I got; how dare this arrogant murderous bastard come into my rapidly perfecting lifestyle! I could not wait to get my hands on him… the way I felt right now I could take him and Victoria both at once. The thoughts in my head kept flashing between what he had done to me over the years and what I was about to do to him. Come and get it James; tonight you die.

I could faintly hear my family running behind me, but I doubt it fully registered either what they were saying or what their intent was for following me.

**EmPOV**

I turned just in time to see my baby sister dash out the door with Edward on her heels. Alice followed immediately as did Jasper. I could sense a fight forming and hell if I was going to be left out of it. I caught up to the others, minus Bella and Edward, in seconds. I knew my little brother was fast, I could see him easily about a hundred feet ahead of me, but I could barely register Bella at all…she had to be nearly a half mile ahead of him! No freaking way! I knew newborns had exceptional strength and speed, but this was unheard of!

I would have to remember to ask Carlisle if newborns had limits, up until now I thought they had, but beside her exceptional speed she seemed to have no need to hunt or feed. Humans we passed on our trip here did not seem to affect her senses at all. It was as if we merely caused her heart to stop because otherwise she really didn't seem much like a vampire at all.

After whatever was about to happen was over, I was definitely going to challenge my little Bells to a complete triathlon of endurance, speed and charisma. I was going to test everything I could think of… if this girl was as 'the bomb' as I thought she was then I had my work cut out for me.

**EPOV**

She was out of the room before I had time to think. How did she do that!? I had even taken into consideration her highly enhanced newborn abilities, but she should not have been able to evade me that quickly! Now I could barely keep her in my sight, this was absolutely ludicrous. I had seen my share of newborns in my life, but none had even come close to the things I had experienced from my beloved in the few hours since we had reconnected.

**BPOV**

I saw him finally…a tiny speck on the horizon, but I was entirely certain it was him. He heard me from the point I first spotted him, but even from where I was I could see the surprise etched into his flawless features. I smiled, he had expected to find me, but he had not expected me to find him, a vampire in my own right nonetheless.

He crouched down as I approached; it was only seconds from the time I spotted him until I reached him, my family not far behind. I slowed as I came within mere feet of him. I stood, choosing not to take either an offensive, nor defensive pose… I felt no need to do so. Though the Cullens behind me and Edward beside me did immediately on reaching our little gathering.

"Hello, James." I said calmly, evenly as if greeting an old acquaintance. "Fancy seeing you here. Now you wouldn't be looking for me around these parts, would you?"

He smiled, though he did not relax his defensive pose, "Bella. My darling meal, you seem to have become food for another in my absence. Certainly it wouldn't be one of the coven who now stands with you, would it? To whom do I owe the pleasure of killing first?" he spat.

"No James. I did not become their food; they are offended at human blood. I asked to join them and they obliged. You are not here to kill them; you are here to kill me." I said, I could feel for the first time the venom rise in my throat and mouth… I could smell James' uncertainty and…was it …fear? Of course, it had to be; he must know he is outnumbered here, though he did not know that the others would not be engaged in the battle that would ensue tonight. This fight was mine… I knew Alice would transmit this to the others; Edward however would be a bit more difficult.

If only I could do as I had done earlier today… I closed my eyes; I only dared because I knew James and Victoria were not stupid enough to attack a whole coven and wish to survive. I pushed… it felt odd, like holding your breath and trying to force a piece of incredibly heavy furniture into place all by one's self. Suddenly I felt it budge… it gave, first only a little, then a lot. It was open. I could hear Edward's thoughts… _"What the hell is she thinking? She could get killed, newborn strength or no… how could she do this to me? Does she even still love me? Perhaps she wants to die. Ugh, the things going through his mind… the carnage she was subjected to, it's so much worse than I thought. Even worse than she thought, I believe."_

I pushed my voice into his thoughts and waited as he started at the new sensation. "_Edward, this is my fight tonight. If you wish to hold back Victoria you may, but that is all unless I ask more of you, do you understand?"_ I watched in my mind's eye for his response, he nodded slightly. It surprised me actually; I did not expect to win him over so quickly.

"_And by the way, Edward, yes I do love you. And you needn't worry; I'm not going to die by his hand tonight or ever."_ I opened my eyes and glanced at him. His expression was priceless, absolutely priceless.

I stepped forward, I nodded to Edward and he raced forth in a flash and took Victoria, Emmett stood up as well and went to help him. It was a good move; she was quite a spitfire once she got going, it was good I had two to hold her. They took hold of her before she had realized what was happening. James noticed but moved not an inch, whether he knew they would only hold her or whether he did not care about her I did not know nor, at the moment, did I care.

I moved forward as casually as if I were walking down the street. I could see the confusion in his face. His confidence began to grow; I had newborn strength, he knew, but obviously I lacked the skill of a true fighter. He would slaughter me, he was certain of it.

He sprang. His hands on me in seconds, but off of me in milliseconds. He regained his stance; his confusion was laid bare now. I could hear his essence. Not his thoughts exactly, but his emotions. Determination began to flood his mind; he radiated it as an animal does heat in the dead of winter. It was a beacon to me, calling me to it. The greatest desire I had was to crush it. Crush my opposition. But I intended to take my time as much as possible. He would pay for the pain he inflicted on me and so many other innocents in his dreadful existence.

He lunged again at me, his full body hitting mine with the force of a freight train at full speed. I reached up, rather gracefully and slow in my eyes, grasping his shoulders before flipping him cleanly over my head, as he hung seemingly forever in the air, I spun quickly around and kicked his side as it fell like a feather to the earth. The sound was like a clap of thunder, I could feel the ribs breaking one by one under the force of my foot. One, two, three, four, five… I counted in my head as they broke. He hit the ground on his right side, I heard another crunch as the weight of his body connected with the earth. His arm bones were smashed. I tilted my head as I watched the whole scene play out in slow motion. I walked over to him before he had a chance to rise, his bones beginning to heal even now. I could not allow that to happen.

I grabbed his dirty, tattered shirt and lifted him as high as my stature would allow. "Build a fire, Rosalie." I ordered calmly, my eyes never leaving his. James' entire being began filling with fear. The sweet scent of it emanated from every cell of his pitiful hide. I inhaled deeply, intoxicated, wanting…oh how the tables had turned! I pressed his neck to my face, breathing deeply once again. I whispered into his ear as I held him, "I can smell the fear in you… I will enjoy every drop of your venom, James, but I will not drain you… you will burn alive…along with your pathetic whore. You will never taste the blood of the innocent again; tonight I will damn you to hell."

I pressed my lips to his neck, kissing the place where I would engorge on his essence. I placed my teeth on his neck ever so lightly, savoring the dread and fear in his being before pressing with more force than necessary with my newly razor-edged teeth into the flesh. With the first puncture the venom filled my mouth, flowing down my throat, its sweetness addicting me immediately. I drank deeply, ignoring his terror-filled screams until I feared that consuming another drop would drain him; I wanted him to feel every sensation the blaze would ignite in his senses, pain, heat, unending, consuming.

I pulled him away from me, allowing his eyes to meet my own once again. His screaming had ended physically, but I could feel the fibers of his body wracking and trembling with the after affects of what I'd done to him. At that moment I felt vengeance had been mine, but I was determined to finish the job; I would be certain that no human would ever again fear for James' torturous games. His face was paler than before, his skin seemed bruised on his face, the wound on his neck from my bite was sizzling and spitting as if acid had been poured onto it. He was broken now, as so many years before he had broken the human he had decided to make sport of.

The fire Rose had built, with the help of Carlisle and Esme was burning brightly now here in the clearing. I turned momentarily to look for the two vampires I had not set to a task. Alice was watching me with a dumbfounded expression on her delicate face, Jasper was heaving heavily at her side. If vampires could vomit I'm sure he would have felt much more relief than he was feeling right now. I felt sorry for him, they drank the blood of animals even thought humans were the intended source of food… to him it must be like a human watching a cannibalistic act performed before them.

I wanted to look to see Edward's reaction, but I feared that I might be discouraged from finishing James off if his expression was anything other than adoring. I think I knew that Emmett and Edward's reactions would be rather closer to Jasper's, so I chose to focus on the task at hand instead.

I drug James' body over to the pyre that my creator had built. "Thank you, Rosalie." I turned James to face me for the last time, my eyes boring into his. "May hell receive you with open arms. First though, you will watch your whore die in the beauty of the flame." I looked over my shoulder, forcing my eyes to come to rest only on Emmett. "Throw her in." I ordered. I was swiftly obeyed, there was no hesitation. Carlisle and Esme stood back a ways from the fire, but Rosalie stayed by my side. We watched as Emmett and Edward forced her into the flames fo the raging bonfire. Her screams pierced the night air with a shrill pitch unlike I had ever heard, and to this day never have again.

The flames consumed her quickly as if she had soaked for weeks in gasoline. The venom in her body, so highly flammable, turned her into a quickly burning fuse and in a moment she was no more.

I looked at James, his face trained on the fire. His body was weakened from the lack of venom, he no longer had the will to fight me. One tear rolled down his cheek. No, it was not a tear, it was venom. In all the years I had spent with vampires I was certain they could not cry, but perhaps it was only residual venom trying to make its way around his body in an effort to strengthen him. It was futile at most, because in that moment I shoved him forward into the midst of the fire. His hair and clothing caught quickly, but his skin, unlike Victoria's, seemed no more flammable than a wet hide. His screams echoed off the trees that surrounded us as he burned.

Alice spoke from behind me, "Why isn't he burning, Carlisle? When will it be over?" she begged. "He's nearly drained, Alice… it's our venom that burns us so quickly. He's been doomed to a slow death by her consumption of his most precious bodily fluid." Carlisle answered her. It made so much sense; in essence I had done to him what he had done to so many others. "It's fitting." Rosalie said as she stood next to me. It seemed she alone shared my sentiments of our current situation.

I took one step closer to the fire, watching him burn, his skin, with traces of venom left in the cells, blistered, opened and burned…so slowly. The deed was done; all that was left was to ensure he did not escape his fiery torment. I thought I heard a sound from Edward behind me and I turned to see what he had said. At that moment I felt hot hands on me, one on my shoulder, the other gripping my hair, pulling me into the blaze.

**EPOV**

It was disgusting, watching another of our kind consumed by flame. But this was far more dreadful; one of the advantages of dying by fire is that it was supposed to be quick. Our kind literally went out like a light… a very quick burning torch and was reduced to pure ash in mere minutes with no trace of our existence remaining. No evidence we ever were at all. But to watch one of our own kind suffer and writhe, the flames licking his skin, little fires bursting to life at pockets of venom still left in his body. It was revolting. I wanted nothing more than to look away, but my eyes would not obey me. I was certain that no one was ready for this when Bella had run out the door this evening. No one could have guessed, because in the entire existence of the world, as long as vampires had existed anyway, had this ever happened. Some vampire somewhere would have recorded such an instance, as they had with the other ways we were able to be destroyed.

I stood, my eyes riveted to this horrendous scene. No doubt in my mind questioned that James deserved this, not after what I had seen in his sick and twisted mind. It was just, even though you knew how well deserved it might be, you still knew that the being in the fire was very like you physically. You could not but put yourself in his place, if only momentarily. The whole idea of it all turned my stomach.

That was when I heard what I can only assume was his final coherent thought, _"If I'm going down, you little bitch, you're coming with me."_ He thought as he pulled Bella into the flames beside him. She had turned to look at me, the gasp that had escaped my lips at his thought, it was my fault. She was gone. I rushed forward, but not before Jasper, Carlisle and Emmett all simultaneously threw their arms around me, pulling me away from my own certain demise. Didn't they know I could never live without her?

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**OK... if you review I will love you forever! Seriously! I live for your comments!! (good and bad!)**

**P.S. Sorry for the cliffy... I _promise _it WILL be worth it!!!**


	17. Chapter 16 Apollyon

**A/N: Ohhh, I hate for this story to end! I've had SO much fun writing it! I love that you all have read it and stayed with me through updates and lulls and everything and I hope you all like the next story I'm thinking up which will be available sometime soon. (I'm absolutely addicted to your reviews, so I can't hold out too long!) Thank you all so much for the encouragement and critique and everything that you have given me...it has given me the strength and will to keep writing!**

**Disclaimer: Of course I'm not Stephenie...she's not this dramatic!** **She's better!**

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**EPOV**

I stood looking to the spot where Bella had disappeared into the shadow and flame… the scent of potpourri scented the air and trees around us with the burning bodies of our kind. It seemed like hours we had been standing here, watching the spot that Bella had stood. It had been only a quarter hour, however. Jasper stood near beside me, too shocked to hide his thoughts from me. _"Not only did she have her own venom, but she was filled with his… She wouldn't have lasted more than a minute in that fire… she was probably turned to ash before he was_." I looked at him; he caught my gaze and looked sheepishly away. I knew he hadn't meant it to hurt me, but it didn't change the fact that my Bella was gone. James, in the end, had finally taken her from me. He had taken my reason for living; any pity felt for him in the moments before he reached through the fire had long since vanished.

I stood, my eyes as riveted to the flame as they had been before, when I thought I saw a stirring. I frowned, I looked quickly at my family standing nearby, gauging their reactions. Uncertainty overshadowed their faces all at once… they had seen it too. I looked back to the bonfire, waiting, hoping for another flicker of life to show itself. I waited, seemingly forever, just as I was about to give it up as wishful thinking it happened again. It was moving…something was…standing up. What the hell?

I watched as a figure emerged from the flames, it seemed to come from far way at first… or perhaps it was just walking very slowly. The frame of the body was small, slight. Could it be? Surely no vampire could have survived fire! Especially as engorged as my Bella had been on James' venom. I watched as the figure came closer to the edge of the flames… her hair seemed to flow as if a slight breeze. She walked right to the edge, and slowly I saw one small pale foot emerge from the wall of flame, then her leg, white, pale, slender.

Her leg was quickly joined by her thigh, and then the rest of her emerged. Naked. Oh my gosh she was naked! My jaw dropped as did those of my brothers. She was indescribably gorgeous. Of course I don't know how I expected her clothes to survive such an inferno as had been constructed. Undeterred she walked ever closer to me. I tried to focus on something else, but even the shock of seeing Bella return from the dead was hard pressed to deter my mind from her present state.

I moved to cover her body, shield her indecency from my family with my own body. Carlisle took the hint and urged the rest of the family to return to the house and get her something else to wear. I knew from his thoughts that getting her something to wear was going to play second fiddle to the research he was planning on doing as soon as he was within reach of his library. In one night Bella had surpassed all of the extraordinary strengths and abilities unnecessarily granted to our kind. Truly she was a phenomenon, something far beyond anything any of the vampires who had recorded our histories had ever encountered.

As the others left I stepped back to examine her, the years of medical school taking over my shock and amazement. Her hair was not singed; her skin showed no discoloration, everything about her was absolutely flawless. Her expression was one of complete serenity, as if she had just awoken from the most pleasant dream.

I could not, no matter how I tried, hide my utter abashedness at her very presence. "How did you do that?" was all I could force out of my mouth… it was all that my vocal chords would allow. She smiled at me, her face still as that of an angel, I thought, my exquisite angel of death.

"I really don't know, Edward. When he pulled me into the fire, I fell over. I knew it was over, I just lay there waiting for death, or whatever it is that we do, to come. After a while I opened my eyes, James and Victoria were nothing but ash… I held up my hand and I was still whole. My clothes had burned, by I was still alive."

She leaned in, her body resting on mine, her head on my shoulder, her arms wrapped lightly around my neck. My mind and body were at war with one another, back and forth, I could not keep focused on simply one thing. My hands still hung at my sides, unable to let myself touch her. What I had feared when she emerged from the fire had subsided, though; she was real, not a figment of my imagination. Not a spirit or a ghost, or even a hallucination. She was solid. Real. Mine.

She shifted next to me, her body pressed into mine and that was it. My decision was ended as to which entity would; win my mind or my body. My body won.

I lifted my right hand placing the on her back, my left hand drawing her chin toward my face and I kissed her, hard and wanting. She obliged and kissed me back just as forcefully. Her fingers curving, pulling, tugging at my shirt. Her strength was so intense that before she realized what she had done; my shirt had ripped in two and was falling off my back. She looked at me, her eyes reflected slight embarrassment…amusement. I smiled down at her. There was no turning back now. She smiled and began to back away into the trees. I pulled off what was left of my shirt and discarded it. She smiled playfully at me. I could feel the grin growing on my face until it stretched as far as possible. Feelings ignited inside me that I had felt only glimmers of before in her presence. I decided to discard the rest of my garments as well before giving chase.

We ran through the forest, I had yet to catch her, but she was purposefully staying within sight; I knew from earlier this evening she could outrun me with the greatest of ease, leaving me far, far behind her. I wondered when she would tire of this game, not soon I hoped, it was very arousing. Just wait until I got her home.

**APOV**

I took Bella's clothes out of her drawer and folded them neatly over my hand. Jasper was behind me, trying all at once to give help and receive comfort from the effect of the night's events. I could feel his anxiety, and I know that my own was of no help to him, but neither of us could easily forget what we had just seen. Finally I decided to focus on relief. Relief that Bella was alive, safe and somewhere out there was waiting on me to dress her in her finest. I stopped a moment; another vision was coming, short but very clear. It was Edward, he was standing with Bella leaning against him, they were kissing, she was tugging lightly on his shirt, but she obviously did not know her own strength. After she backed away the vision changed into that of Edward literally ripping his pants and under things off. The vision ended, thankfully before I had to see more. Oh well, just one more stop by Edward's closet and I could deliver the clothes to the edge of the forest and await their arrival.

As I set the clothes on the ground just inside the edge of the brush that lined the wooded area of our backyard I thought I heard a clap of thunder followed by a loud and quite consistent rumbling sound. I looked up, but though the night was cloudy, I could see nor smell any hint of a storm on the horizon. The thunder continued to get louder as I walked back inside the house. "Jasper, check the weather channel for tonight's forecast; I could swear I heard thunder just now…" he checked al the stations that would have a weather forecast and all stated exactly as I would have suspected. Cloudy with no chance of storms or even rain. I would be sure to let Edward know to keep the noise down next time. But being his first time though, he might deserve a bit of rough-housing. I smiled to myself. Jasper did not fail to notice. I winked at him and he caught on. A slow grin spread across his face. He nodded his head slightly toward the stairs. I nodded in agreement and raced up the stairs with him. It was just the distraction he had needed. Not that it didn't provide me with some much needed distraction myself.

Mine and Jasper's room were right next door to Rosalie and Emmett's room for when they visited. I could hear from the breaking glass that we were not the first couple to think of such a distraction as Jasper and I stripped down and flew onto the bed.

**BPOV**

Edward lie next to me as we looked up into the sky, the sunrise just beginning to color the sky in the east a violet rose. We had ended up in our meadow, the grass long and flowing all around us. I leaned over to kiss him, he did not hold back. As I pulled away I said what I knew we had both been dreading since we began our little rampage through the forest last night. "We have to go back sometime, might as well go before the sun is fully up so we don't get spotted by passing hikers." He smiled at me. "Not just yet, I want to watch the sun rise with you." I lay back onto his outstretched arm and sighed contentedly. He looked at me again. "Your eyes are beautiful right now, Bella… such a light shade of lavender." I smiled. They had never been so light before, they had stayed a near consistent shade of amethyst since I had woken up into my new existence.

"Could it be because I fed last night?" I asked, warily, not wanting to rehash bad memories he might harbor from my fury played out in the vengeance he had been forced to witness. He looked at me thoughtfully. "I suppose it could; though that is not our usual food source, I suppose it could, in theory, sustain you." I smiled slightly, but to my surprise he continued. "How…what did it…taste like, Bella?" he asked quietly, unsure if he had overstepped any invisible boundary. "It was incredible; I didn't want to stop, it was so sweet and fragrant, it just kept filling my mouth and my body craved every last drop of it…but somehow I stopped. I wanted him to feel his death. Every painful moment of it." I said, fearing he would at any moment back away from me, disgusted and horrified. He let out a small laugh. "You sound as if you're describing human blood, Bella. Not vampire venom. And still you have no desire for it at all?" I shook my head. "No, none whatsoever. Nor do I feel a craving for venom… it was just for that moment I suppose." I tried to smile reassuringly. For the moment I could see how he had felt. Torn between thirsting for my life source and loving me so implicitly that he could not stand the thought of it. Even now I could smell the sweet venom flowing through him, but didn't want a drop of it.

He let the conversation drop after that. Watched the sun rise as well as it could under near constant cloud cover. Afterward we began to head toward the house. Thankfully Alice had had enough insight to set out two sets of clothes at the wooded edge of the yard. I supposed that she had seen Edward's decision just after he had made it. We dressed quickly and went inside. We were met in the living room by Emmett and Jasper applauding us wildly. If I could blush I most certainly would have.

Edward began to chide them for it until Emmett explained. "Dude, no, we're happy for you of course since it was your first time, but that's not what we're applauding." Jasper shook his head in agreement. "No, dude… you guys made the news! Look!" We looked. Behind Emmett a male reporter was giving his report on the possible cyclone that had ravaged part of the forest just outside of Forks the night before. "People in various parts of the countryside out near where the damage was found had reported hearing loud claps of thunder and a low rumbling for long intervals afterward that seem consistent with the sound and activity of a cyclone. Good thing it didn't come any closer to town! The area damaged was a relatively small part of our great national forest, but no major damage was recorded. Back to you Jane." The camera panned over the very part of the forest Edward and I had 'rampaged' last night. I looked down at my shoes, trying hard to suppress a grin. Edward looked mortified.

Jasper and Emmett resumed their applause and congratulations until he was interrupted by Carlisle coming down the stair. "Oh, good you're back." He said to Edward and I and in the same low tone of voice he quietly called the rest of the family into the living room. Once we were all seated and the boys turned the television off Carlisle took a deep breath and began.

"As you know I have spent the night researching what might have cause Bella's extraordinary condition and if she was at any risk from it. What I have found however seems to be a bit more interesting than I had hoped. You see there has only ever been one other case like Bella's at all and it was reported to be part legend and more than half myth at best. I now question that it was ever myth or legend at all and only wonder that it is simply so old it has been forgotten even by the ancients of our kind." He looked at Bella as he spoke.

"I believe we might be dealing with… for lack of a better word…. another Lilith." I frowned, Alice gasped and Jasper let out a chuckle.

"Who is Lilith?" I asked. Carlisle smiled in a fatherly way. "Lilith is said to have been the mother of all vampires. In Jewish legend she was Adam's first wife, created at the same time as Adam and as his complete equal, but she was too concerned with power and ruling over Adam and the Garden of Eden and God banished her and created Eve for Adam, from his rib, to be subject to him instead. It is said that she took up residence by the Red Sea and spawned, a-sexually mind you, hordes of vampires, most of whom killed each other to near extinction…other legends branch off from there, but the stories have it that she had many of the characteristics that you do. Bright violet eyes, incredible strength, speed and agility and when necessary is said to have fed from her own children as a form of punishment while they were forced to subsist on the children of Adam.

In later legends she is referred to simply as the Queen of the Damned. It is said that she never died, but grew so tired of her bickering children that she shut herself away in the depths of the earth. No more is known or has ever been heard of her."

"That,' he continued, "is the human version. I however was privileged enough to have spent many years with Aro, a great collector of vampire history and there was more written of Lilith. She was, in the legend of our kind the mother of us all, but unlike the human version, she supposedly did die, how it is not told, but she said that she would be reborn one day to prove her innocence, that she was not the power hungry wench described in man's tales… she sought to kill the serpent, the father of lies and treachery because she knew what it was in disguise. She foretold that she would be reborn of an innocent who had remained pure throughout her life and who chose the kiss of eternity from one of her children not for power, but for love."

"No more is told after that except the new Queen will be endowed with all of Lilith's powers and abilities. That's all I could find. It is said that her children obeyed her implicitly, but did not fear her for she was loving and fair toward them… I couldn't help but notice how all of us never questioned any of Bella's moves or motives last night no matter how opposed we were toward them. Just a thought."

Edward looked at me and slowly dropped to one knee. He looked up at me; the love and awe in his face were plainly evident. "My queen." He said quietly and bowed his head. "What?" I asked incredulously as the others followed suit. "No.' I said, "This is crazy… I'm… I can't be…I thought you said it was myth, Carlisle, even among your… our kind."

Carlisle looked up at me and rose, the others rose as well. "Aro believed it, Bella. I have never met anyone as old and wise in our ways as Aro… he has been waiting on the new Lilith for some time, he has, I believe, given up. You are in no way obliged to actually rule, or even settle disputes, but believe me when I say, even without a word from any of us; your identity among our kind will eventually become known. You can live privately if you wish, as the first Lilith chose to do, but you cannot renounce who you are."

Edward pulled me closer to him. "You are still my Bella… you never have changed in that way. You are simply endowed with greater powers than we are, that's all. No one expects anything more than you wish to give. But the fact remains… you are our queen. The Queen of all vampires… the children of the damned."

He sealed his words with a kiss. I decided right there and then that regardless of what I had been bestowed with, my life with Edward would not change. I would be his and his alone until time ended. I would choose privacy as did my predecessor. And live happily for eternity after.

~The End~

* * *

**A/N: So there it is! I sincerely hope you liked it... I really want to thank you all again so much! Please still review! I want to know what you think!**

**I will also be happy to address any questions you might have; the story is clear to me, but I'm not entirely certain that it will be to others so ask away!**


	18. Exclusive for Broken Subscribers Only

Hello faithful readers! I'm SO glad you liked Broken so much… it means a lot to me that you thought so highly of it. This is a notice to those of you who liked that type of Bella/Edward action that I have a brand new story up called 112 Masen Lane!

Here is a plot summary that is exclusive to my 'Broken' readers only!

Bella and Charlie move from Forks to Chicago (pre Twilight, but only slightly)and Bella becomes obsessed with the grand old abandoned Victorian house right across the street from her own. She researches the old place and finds that it is owned by a distant relative of the family who once owned the house. In a tragedy that occurred ninety years prior, the family who resided there perished as victims of the Spanish flu of 1918. Wouldn't Bella be surprised to find that the original owner is in fact still alive? -Sort of- How will she react when she comes face to face with him?

AU, Cannon Couples, Mystery / Romance / Thriller (sort of)

Can't wait to read your comments!


	19. For Fans Only

Hello my fans of other fanfics! I really love hearing from you that you are enjoying my stories…hey I even like the criticisms; it means people are reading and thinking and I love that!

Okay so here we go, this is an exclusive sneak peek for all of you fans who liked reading Broken, My Immortal and 112 Masen Lane.

Now, granted I am writing this one in the fashion that I wrote Broken, my very first. I write up 4-6 chapters ahead of what I post so I can stay up to date and not lag behind so far you forget what the story is about.

Now this story (as all of my others are) is completely Alternate Universe. But I think you might enjoy;

Synopsis: It's the early 20th century and Bella has landed herself in jail for murder. Edward happens to be in the right place at the right time. Can he help her?

Here is an excerpt from chapter 3:

"_If I wanted to make you talk… truly wanted to make you talk, I could chéri." I said, not intending to be as menacing as my words came out to be._

_She smirked at this. "If I had nothing to talk about, there would be nothing to hear."_

"_Oh, mon Chéri, I could make you confess to things you couldn't dream of in your darkest nightmares." I replied, despising myself for letting even this tiny bit of the monster within show though. I had to show her I meant business. If she didn't confess to me and let me help her, she'd be the first woman to swing in this country in two-hundred years._

Now keep in mind they are living in New Orleans in the very early 20th century. My dates are neither cannon nor historically accurate so don't start with the fact that certain part of New Orleans were no longer in existence at the time of this writing. I know… but I write for effect, not accuracy.

Hope you enjoy!


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